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laiS  IlILE  mi  BEEN  MiCROFiiLWEO 


Form  No.  471 


REAR  ADMIRAL  JOHN  ANCRUM  WINSLOW 


THE  LIFE  OF 

JOHN  ANCRUM  WINSLOW 

REAR-ADMIRAL,   UNITED   STATES  NAVY 

WHO    COMMANDED    THE 

U.S.  STEAMER  "KEARSARGE" 

IN    HER    ACTION    WITH    THE 

CONFEDERATE  CRUISER  "ALABAMA" 


BY 

JOHN  M.  ELLICOTT 

LIEUT.,  U.  S.    NAVY 


G.  P.  PUTNAM'S  SONS 
NEW  YORK  AND  LONDON 
Cbe  Iknicherbochcr  press 

1905 


Copyright,  igoi 

BY 

JOHN  M.  ELLICOTT 


Ube  ftniclserbociier  press,  mew  U^ock 


PREFACE  TO  SECOND  EDITION. 

IN  bringing  out  a  second  edition  of  the  Life  of 
yokn  Ancruni  VVinslow,  the  author  wishes  to 
express  his  appreciation  of  the  popular  interest 
taken  in  the  biography,  and  of  the  very  favorable 
criticism  which  it  has  elicited.  The  present  edition 
contains  some  emendations  suggested  by  reviewers, 
for  which  the  author  hereby  desires  to  express  his 
thanks. 

John  M.   Ellicott, 

Lieut. -Commander^  U.  S.  Navy. 

Navy  Department, 
Washington,  D.  C.  ,  May  i,  igo^. 


PREFACE. 


ADMIRAL  WINSLOW  was  careful,  through- 
out his  Hfe,  to  preserve  and  copy  his  official 
and  public  correspondence.  His  wife  and  children 
were  equally  painstaking  in  preserving  his  papers 
and  private  letters,  and  in  collecting  everything 
concerning  him  that  appeared  in  the  public  prints. 
I  was  requested  to  undertake  his  biography  about 
five  years  ago,  and  all  the  collected  material  was 
unreservedly  placed  at  my  disposal.  Much  of  the 
labor  of  chronological  assortment  had  already  been 
done  by  Mrs.  Winslow  and  Miss  Mary  C.  Winslow, 
the  Admiral's  wife  and  surviving  daughter.  Be- 
sides this  original  material,  many  published  works 
have  been  consulted,  of  which  a  list  is  given  in  this 
volume,  and  I  desire  to  express  my  thanks  to  their 
authors  for  much  valuable  information. 

After  many  interruptions,  due  to  arduous  profes- 
sional duty,  I  am  at  last  able  to  give  the  biography 
to  the  public,  hoping  that  I  have  made  it  as  inter- 
esting and  instructive  to  others  as  the  original 
material  has  been  to  me. 

John  M.   Ellicott, 

Lieutenant^  U.  S.  Navy. 
Naval  War  College, 

Newport,  R.  I.,  Jan.  /,  igoi. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER 
I   — 

II.— 


III.— 

IV.— 

V. 

VI.- 

VII. 

VIII. 

IX. 

X. 

XI. 

XII. 

XIII. 

XIV. 

XV. 

XVI. 

XVII. 

XVIII. 

XIX. 

XX. 


Antecedents  and  Childhood 

From  his  Marriage  to  the  Burning  of  the 

Missouri 

The  Burning  of  the  Missouri     . 
Beginning  of  the  War  with  Mexico 
Blockading  Mexican  Ports 
Winslow's  First  Command   . 
•Executive  of  the  Saratoga 
•On  the  Frigate  St.  Lawrence    . 
■Duty  with  the  Western  Flotilla 
Return  to  Duty  on  the  Mississippi 
•Detachment  from  Western  Flotilla 
■Assignment  to  Command  the  Kearsarge 
■Cruising  around  the  Azores 
•Blockading  the  Florida 
■The  Queenstown  Incident  . 
■The  Escape  of  the  Georgia  and  Florida 
-The  Blockade  of  the  Rappahannock  . 
•The  Alabama  at  Cherbourg 
-The  Destruction  of  the  Alabama 
•The  Conduct  of  the  Deerhound 


PAGE 
I 

6 

15 
24 

Zl 

40 

48 

57 
69 
80 
90 

97 
104 
117 
124 
138 
153 
174 
188 
219 


viii  Contents 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XXI. — The  Sojourn  of  the  Victor  at  Cherbourg  233 

XXII. — The  Close  of  the  Cruise      ....  250 

XXIII. — The  Ovation  at  Home          ....  259 

XXIV. — Duties  as  Commodore 264 

XXV. — The  Last  Cruise 270 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Rear-Admiral  John  Ancrum  Winslow.      Frontispiece 
Map  of  Theatre  of  Operations  of  Mexican  War    . 
Theatre  of  Operations  of  Western  Flotilla  . 
The  Kearsarge  of  1864       . 
Kearsarge's  Theatre  of  Operations 
C.  S.  S.  Alabama          .         .         .         .         , 
Diagram  of  Kearsarge-Alabama  Combat 
U.  S.  S.  Kearsarge 


24 

70 

98 

118 

174 

ig8 


WORKS  CONSULTED 


History  of  the  Mexican  War.     General  C.  M,  Wilcox. 

The  Home  Squadron  in  the  Mexican  War.     P.  S.  P.  Conner. 

Service  Afloat  and  Ashore  in  the  Mexican  War.     Raphael  Semmes. 

Official  Records  of  the  Union  and  Confederate  Navies  in  the  War  of  the 

Rebellion.     U.  S.  Naval  War  Records  Office. 
The  Navy  in  the   Civil  War  ;   The   Gulf  and  Inland   Waters.      Captain 

A.  T.  Mahan,  U.S.N. 
The  Navy  in  the  Civil  War  ;    The  Blockade  and  the  Cruisers.     Jas.   R. 

SOLEY. 

History  of  the  Navy  during  the  Rebellion.     Charles  B.  Boynton. 

The  Confederate  States  Navy.     J.  Th^s.  Scharf. 

The  Rise  and  Fall  of  the  Confederate  Government.     Jefferson  Davis. 

A  History  of  Our  Own  Times.     Justin  McCarthy. 

France  atid  the  Confederate  Navy.     John  Bigelow. 

The  Secret  Service  of  the  Confederate  States.     James  D.  Bullock. 

Service  Afloat,  "■Sumter  "  and  "Alabama."     Raphael  Semmes. 

Two  Years  on  the  "Alabama."     Arthur  Sinclair. 

An   Englishfnan's  View  of  the   Battle   between   the  "Alaba?na"  and  the 

"Kearsarge."     F.  M.  Edge. 
Life  of  Admiral  Foote.     J.  M.  Hoppin. 
Life  of  Charles  Henry  Davis.     C.  H.  Davis. 
The    Neutrality   of    Great  Britain   during  the    American    Civil    War. 

Montague  Bernard. 
Claims  of  the  United  States  against  Great  Britain.     U.  S.  Government. 
Acte  Final  de  la  Conference  Internationale  de  la  Paix  ;  La  Haye.,  i8gg. 
The  Laws  and  Usages  of  War  at  Sea.      Captain  C.  H.  STOCKTON,  U.S  N. 
Expedition  du  Mexique.     G.  Niox. 


Xll 


Works  Consulted 


The  Fall  of  Maximilian! s  Empire.     Seaton  Schroeder. 

The  Congressional  Record,  1864  and  1865. 

The  Army  and  Navy  yournal,  1S62-66. 

The  Spectator,  London. 

The  Times,  London,  and  other  leading  American,   British,   and  French 

newspapers. 
The  Century  Magazine. 


THE  LIFE  OF  JOHN  ANCRUM  WINSLOW 


LIFE  OF  REAR  ADMIRAL 

JOHN  ANCRUM  WINSLOW. 


CHAPTER  I. 

ANTECEDENTS    AND    CHILDHOOD. 

IT  is  the  privilege  of  the  biographer  to  unfold  to 
his  readers,  page  by  page,  the  life  of  an  indi- 
vidual who  has  accomplished  great  deeds  in  the 
world's  history,  and  it  is  the  biographer's  duty  to 
show,  as  best  he  can,  how  heredity,  environment, 
education  and  training,  as  brought  to  bear  upon 
the  individual  by  an  all-wise  Providence,  make  of 
him  an  instrument  for  the  accomplishment  of  far- 
seen  purposes. 

Heredity  had  not  a  little  to  do  in  shaping  the 
career  of  John  Ancrum  Winslow.  The  Winslows, 
coming  from  Droitwitch,  England,  arrived  in  the 
Plymouth  Colony  with  the  first  settlers,  and  two  of 
the  family  became  governors  of  the  colony.  It 
was  from  John  Winslow,  a  brother  of  Edward,  the 
Governor,  and  Mary  Chilton,  the  first  woman  to 
land  from  the  Mayflozuer,  that  the  subject  of  this 


2  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

biography  was  descended.  From  Puritan  stock 
came  his  inheritance  of  integrity,  perseverance  and 
fortitude. 

On  his  mother's  side,  Winslow  was  descended 
from  Colonel  William  Rhett,  son  of  Sir  Walter 
Rhett,  a  baronet  in  the  time  of  Charles  II.  Will- 
iam Rhett  married  Sarah,  dauo-hter  of  Thomas 
Amy,  Esq.,  of  London,  one  of  the  lord  propri- 
etors of  the  Colony  of  Carolina  under  the  charter 
confirmed  by  King  Charles  in  1663-65.  In  1704, 
the  French  and  Spaniards,  with  a  frigate  and  four 
armed  sloops,  under  the  command  of  Le  Feboure, 
sailed  against  Charleston  from  Havana.  Rhett 
was  placed  in  command  of  an  improvised  naval 
force,  consisting  of  six  small  vessels,  and  given  a 
commission  as  vice-admiral.  With  this  force  he 
defeated  the  invading  expedition — killing,  wound- 
ing and  capturing  three  hundred  men.  In  1718, 
the  colony  was  subjected  to  depredations  by  the 
Buccaneers  under  Steed  Bonnet,  or  "  Blackbeard." 
Two  sloops  were  fitted  out  by  Governor  Johnson 
and  placed  under  the  command  of  Rhett,  who  fol- 
lowed Bonnet  into  the  waters  of  Cape  Fear,  and, 
after  a  severe  engagement,  in  which  the  pirate  was 
badly  wounded,  captured  him  with  his  vessel  and 
crew.  Rhett  was  afterwards  appointed  Governor- 
general  of  the  Bahamas,  but  never  accepted  the 
position.  From  this  hero  of  Carolina,  Winslow  in- 
herited the  ambition  to  become  a  naval  warrior 
and  the  qualities  necessary  for  success  in  such  a 
callinor. 

John  Winslow,  of  Plymouth,  moved  to  Boston, 


Antecedents  and  Childhood.  3 

and  it  was  there  that  Edward  Winslow,  a  descen- 
dant of  John  and  father  of  the  subject  of  this 
biography,  was  born,  in  1788.  In  1807,  Edward 
went  to  Wilmington,  N.  C,  to  establish  a  com- 
mercial partnership  with  another  branch  of  the 
family,  and,  in  1809,  he  there  married  Sara  E. 
Berry,  a  widow,  of  Scotch  descent,  her  father  being 
John  Ancrum,  chairman  of  the  Committee  of 
Safety  of  Wilmington  during  the  Revolutionary 
War.  At  fourteen,  she  had  married  a  Mr.  McAl- 
lister, who  was  killed  a  year  later  while  they  were 
travelling.  By  him  she  had  one  child,  born  after 
the  father's  death.  At  eighteen,  she  married  a  Mr. 
Berry,  and  by  him  had  five  children.  She  was 
twenty-nine  years  of  age  when  she  married  Edward 
Winslow,  a  youth  of  twenty-one.  They  had  four 
children,  of  whom  John  Ancrum  was  the  second. 

John  Ancrum  Winslow  was  born  in  Wilmington, 
N.  C,  November  19,  181 1,^  combining  in  his  in- 
heritance, as  we  have  seen,  the  simplicity,  perse- 
verance, integrity  and  fortitude  of  the  Plymouth 
Rock  pilgrims  with  the  courage,  chivalry  and  dash 
of  the  gentry  of  Carolina.  Even  in  his  boyhood 
we  can  see  the  outcropping  of  first  one  and  then 
another  of  these  characteristics.  Being  the  favorite 
son,  he  was  allowed  very  much  his  own  way,  and 
his  inherited  maritime  tendency  led  him  frequently 
to  the  docks  and  shipping.  Upon  one  occasion,  as 
he  was  standing  with  his  elder  brother,  Edward, 
near  a  British  ship,  her  sailors  pitted  the  cabin  boy 
against  him,   and    young   John    received,   without 

'  He  was  baptized  in  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church. 


4  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

warning,  a  blow  upon  his  head.  He  turned  and 
made  such  a  spirited  defence  that  in  a  few  minutes 
the  cabin  boy  was  severely  whipped.  It  was  such 
a  plucky  fight  and  such  a  complete  victory  that  the 
British  tars,  after  a  rousing  cheer,  lifted  the  little 
victor  upon  their  shoulders  and  bore  him  on  board 
their  ship  for  congratulation  and  refreshment.  The 
incident  was  a  prophetic  forerunner  of  another  duel 
he  was  to  fight  against  an  adversary  equipped  and 
egged  on  by  British  enterprise  ! 

Upon  another  occasion,  when  but  ten  years  of  age, 
he  induced  his  brother  Edward  to  accompany  him 
upon  an  impromptu  voyage.  They  cast  themselves 
adrift  in  a  ship's  boat,  erected  a  bush  for  a  sail, 
and,  favored  by  the  wind  and  tide,  were  swept 
rapidly  to  sea.  Before  anxiety  overtook  them  they 
both  fell  asleep,  but  were  luckily  met  by  an  incom- 
ing ship  when  many  miles  from  land,  and  brought 
back  in  safety  to  their  distressed  parents. 

Being  fearless  and  venturesome,  young  Winslow 
soon  learned  to  use  firearms,  and  was  given  dogs 
and  a  gun.  He  loved  his  dogs  devotedly,  and 
spent  many  hours  of  the  day  roaming  with  them 
through  the  woods,  thus  cultivating  that  love  of 
nature's  beauty  which  grew  so  strong  within  him, 
and  which  draws  a  man  in  thought  nearer  to  the 
omnipotent  Creator. 

Edward  Winslow,  the  father,  being  a  Bostonian, 
was  desirous  that  his  sons  should  be  educated  in 
the  North,  so  young  Edward  and  John  were  sent 
first  to  Dorchester  and  afterward  to  Dedham, 
Massachusetts.    At  the  latter  town  they  were  placed 


Antecedents  and  Childhood.  5 

under  the  charge  of  a  Rev.  Mr.  Sewall,  to  be  pre- 
pared for  college.  John  was  then  fourteen  years 
of  age.  He  proved  apt  and  progressive  in  his 
studies,  but,  when  ready  for  college,  his  desire  for 
a  naval  career  had  ripened,  and  he  was  aided  by  his 
indulgent  parents  to  enter  the  profession  of  his 
choice.  Through  the  influence  of  Daniel  Webster, 
whose  home  was  upon  the  Winslow  estate  at  Marsh- 
field,  and  who  held  the  family  in  high  esteem,  an 
appointment  as  midshipman  was  obtained  for  John, 
and  after  a  course  of  study  he  received  his  commis- 
sion February  i,  1827,  and  was  attached  to  the  U. 
S.  S.  Falmouth.  This  ship  cruised  in  the  West  In- 
dies for  three  years,  during  which  young  Winslow 
was  frequently  sent  in  boat  expeditions  against 
pirates,  thus  treading,  at  the  very  outset  of  his 
career,  in  the  footprints  of  that  ancestor  from  whom 
he  had  inherited  the  desire  which  led  him  into  the 
naval  service. 

In  1830,  Winslow  returned  home,  but  in  the  next 
year  he  was  again  ordered  to  the  Falmouth,  and 
sailed  in  her  to  the  Pacific  around  Cape  Horn,  gain- 
ing experience  in  deep-sea  cruising  early  in  life. 
He  remained  in  that  ocean  without  special  incident 
until  1833,  when  he  returned  home,  passed  a  credit- 
able examination,  and  was  promoted  to  Passed  Mid- 
shipman. After  a  few  months  at  the  Boston  Navy 
Yard,  he  was  ordered  to  the  Brazilian  Squadron, 
where  he  served  until  1837  on  the  ships  Erie  and 
Ontario. 


CHAPTER  II. 


FROM     HIS      MARRIAGE     TO      THE     BURNING     OF     THE 

MISSOURI. 

IT  was  probably  during  the  few  months  spent  in 
Boston,  in  1833,  between  his  Pacific  and  first 
BraziHan  cruise,  that  love  ripened  between  young 
Winslow  and  his  cousin,  Catherine  Amelia,  daugh- 
ter of  Benjamin  Winslow  of  that  city.  At  that 
critical  time,  however,  his  devotion  to  the  trying 
profession  of  his  choice  never  wavered,  for  it  is  re- 
lated of  him  that,  after  bidding  his  fair  cousin  good- 
by,  when  departing  for  his  Brazilian  cruise,  he 
threw  his  cap  into  the  air  and  shouted  back,  "  I 
hope  I  will  live  to  be  an  honor  to  my  country  ! " 
Soon  after  his  return  from  this  cruise  they  were 
married,  October  18,  1837,  and  from  that  time, 
when  Winslow  was  not  on  duty  elsewhere,  they 
resided  in  Roxbury,  then  a  suburban  village.  Al- 
though intermarriage  is  a  hazardous  venture,  it 
must  be  conceded,  from  our  study  of  the  ante- 
cedents of  these  young  people,  that  their  union 
could  only  strengthen  the  highest  and  most  admir- 
able traits  in  human  nature,  and  must  have  done 
much    to   develop    in   the    youthful    officer   those 

6 


Marriage  —  Burning  of  the  Missouri.       7 

characteristics  which  brought  him  so  brilliantly- 
through  the  deep  trials  of  his  later  life. 

The  companionship  of  a  pure  woman  is  man's 
God-given  encouragement,  and  fortunate  indeed  is 
he  who  is  never  without  it !  Winslow's  marriage 
at  this  time  was  very  opportune,  for  shortly  after- 
ward his  mother  died,  leaving  the  young  wife  to 
continue  alone  that  subtle  influence  of  woman's 
devotion. 

Seven  children  were  born  of  this  union,  five  sons 
and  two  daughters.  Two  sons  entered  the  navy, 
one  in  the  line  and  one  as  a  paymaster.  The  former, 
Herbert  Winslow,  is  now  (1901)  a  commander. 
Paymaster  William  Randolph  Winslow  died  in  1869, 
leaving  one  son,  the  only  grandchild  of  John  An- 
crum  Winslow,  who  graduated  from  West  Point  at 
the  head  of  his  class  in  1889,  and  is  now  Captain 
Eben  Eveleth  Winslow,  Corps  of  Engineers,  U.  S. 
Army.  Of  the  seven  children.  Commander  Her- 
bert Winslow,  U.  S.  N.,  is  now  the  only  survivor. 

Two  months  after  marriage,  Winslow  was  ordered 
to  the  general  rendezvous  at  Boston,  and  afterwards 
to  the  receiving-ship  at  the  Boston  Navy  Yard. 
Two  years  of  home  life  were  thus  fortunately  per- 
mitted him  to  cement  domestic  bonds.  In  1839,  he 
was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  lieutenant,  and  was 
then  ordered  again  to  Brazilian  waters  in  the  U.  S. 
Schooner  Enterprise,  February  22,  1840.  After  a 
cruise  of  less  than  a  year  he  returned  to  the  United 
States  on  sick  leave,  and  was  once  more  attached 
to  the  receiving-ship  at  the  Boston  Navy  Yard,  thus 
again   spending  some  little   time  with  his  wife  at 


8  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

home.  During  this  shore  duty  he  aided  in  extin- 
guishing a  fire  on  a  Cunard  steamer  in  Boston 
Harbor,  October  27,  1841,  displaying  such  bravery 
that  he  was  presented  with  a  sword-knot  and  a  pair 
of  epaulettes  from  Her  Majesty  Queen  Victoria. 
These  were  afterward  lost  in  the  steam-frigate 
Missouri,  when  she  was  burned  at  Gibraltar. 

Steam  vessels  were  now  being  built  for  the  navy, 
and  one  of  the  earliest,  the  frigate  Missouri,  was 
equipped  at  Norfolk,  in  the  spring  of  1842,  for  her 
maiden  cruise.  On  the  9th  of  June  of  that  year 
Lieutenant  Winslow  was  ordered  to  the  sloop  of 
war  Warren,  then  at  Norfolk,  but  the  Warren 
was  found  to  need  such  extensive  repairs  that  she 
was  soon  afterward  put  out  of  commission,  and 
Winslov/  was  transferred  to  the  Missouri,  a  prefer- 
ment indicating  that  the  young  lieutenant  was  gain- 
ing recognition  at  the  Navy  Department  as  an 
excellent  officer.  The  Missouri  began  her  cruise 
by  visiting  many  home  ports,  so  that  our  people 
could  have  a  look  at  her  and  take  pride  in  their 
country's  naval  development.  In  August  she  sailed 
for  New  York,  where  she  received  quite  an  ovation 
and  spent  two  weeks.  From  there  she  proceeded 
to  Castine,  Belfast,  Camden,  Thomaston,  Wiscasset 
and  Bath,  returning  to  New  York  September  14th, 
where  she  remained  a  month  before  visiting  south- 
ern ports.  On  the  14th  of  October  she  sailed  for 
Savannah,  Georgia.  At  Savannah  the  junketing 
cruise  was  arrested,  and  a  bearer  of  despatches  for 
the  United  States  Minister  at  Mexico  was  sent  to 
take  passage  in  the  Missoiiri  to  Vera  Cruz. 


Marriage  —  Burning  of  tht  Afissoun.      9 

Until  this  time  Winslow  had  drifted  about  the 
world  in  a  haphazard  sort  of  way,  as  a  ship  might 
drift  in  untroubled  seas,  but  strong  currents  were 
now  forming  and  fierce  storms  gathering,  and  we 
shall  see  him  drawn  into  their  midst,  all  uncon- 
sciously at  first,  but  gradually  realizing  the  perils, 
and  meeting  them  with  understanding,  fortitude 
and  calm  endurance,  until  he  emerges  again  upon 
smooth  seas  with  his  name  and  his  deeds  recorded 
in  the  pages  of  history.  His  letters  show  from 
this  time  a  careful  noting  of  passing  events  and 
much  thoughtful  reflection  upon  them,  which,  to- 
gether with  certain  deep  convictions,  cause  him 
almost  to  foresee  national  crises  and  to  be  pre- 
pared to  take  his  part  in  them.  As  far  as  these 
letters  will  tell  the  story  of  his  life,  I  shall  permit 
them  to  do  so,  with  no  unnecessary  comment,  be- 
lieving that  "  the  true  life  of  a  man  is  in  his  letters." 
To  understand  some  allusions  in  the  earlier  ones, 
it  is  necessary  to  fix  in  our  minds  the  events  then 
transpiring  in  our  country's  history,  which  at  that 
time  only  tossed  the  young  officer  about  like  a 
chip  in  an  eddy  formed  by  a  strong  current. 

The  little  Texan  war  for  independence  had  cul- 
minated in  the  decisive  battle  of  San  Jacinto,  April 
10,  1836,  when  General  Houston  captured  Presi- 
dent Santa  Anna,  and  extorted  a  treaty  acknow- 
ledging the  Texan  Republic  ;  but  the  Mexican 
Government  had  refused  to  ratify  the  treaty.  Our 
Government  and  many  others,  however,  acknow- 
ledged Texan  independence,  and  Texas  was  beg- 
ging for  annexation  to  the  United  States.      The 


lo  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

Democratic  party  declared  itself  in  favor  of  annex- 
ation, but  Santa  Anna,  once  more  in  power  in  Mex- 
ico, was  organizing  a  force  for  reconquest.  Besides 
this  cause  of  estrangement  between  the  republics, 
the  United  States  had  claims  for  damages  against 
Mexico  for  depredations  upon  commerce,  which  the 
latter  was  compelled  to  admit  but  could  not  be 
prevailed  upon  to  pay. 

"  Oct.  22d,  1842, 

"  U.  S.  S.  '^  Missouri,'' 

"Savannah,  Georgia. 

" .  .  .  We  have  a  party  of  citizens  on  board,  also  a 
bearer  of  despatches  from  Washington  to  our  Minister  in 
Mexico  ;  he  left  Vera  Cruz  about  six  weeks  since  with  de- 
spatches for  our  Government.  We  sail  for  Vera  Cruz  this 
afternoon.  I  cannot  believe  we  shall  be  detained  over  a 
month,  and  possibly  you  may  not  hear  from  me  again  before 
I  reach  New  York  ;  the  object  of  the  Government  is  to  show 
a  demonstration  of  proper  force.  If  Santa  Anna,  President 
of  Mexico,  does  not  pay  our  claims  at  once,  the  United  States 
will  blockade  the  ports  of  Mexico,  and  this  will  prevent  his 
expedition  upon  Texas  which  he  is  about  carrying  into  effect. 

"  I  have  invented  a  camel-steam  tug  for  taking  vessels  over 
bars,  and  am  getting  a  model  made  ;  the  persons  I  have 
shown  it  to  are  struck  with  its  simplicity  and  practicability.  I 
cannot  see  why  it  should  not  succeed.  I  have  no  doubt  the 
Russian  Government  would  give  me  any  sum  for  it.  How- 
ever, I  am  not  over  sanguine  about  it. 

The  next  letter  is  a  graphic  and  true  portrayal 
of  Cuban  affairs  of  half  a  century  ago,  and  contains 
a  paragraph  showing  Winslow's  deep-rooted  an- 
tagonism to  slavery  : 

"  Havana,  Nov.  2d,  1842, 

"  U.  S.  S.  ''Missouri.^ 

"...  We  have  had  a  large  number  of  Spaniards  and 
other  company  on  board  today.     Nothing  has  tended  so  much 


Marriage  —  Burning  of  the  Missouri,     ii 

to  our  importance  as  a  nation  as  the  exhibition  of  this  ship. 
The  Spaniards  here  think  we  are  the  Great  Mogul.     .     .     . 

"  I  dined  yesterday  with  the  Governor-General  of  Cuba, 
General  Valdes,  with  a  party  of  officers.  He  distinguished 
himself  in  the  war  against  Don  Carlos,  as  Commander  of  the 
troops,  and  was  afterwards  Minister  of  War  ;  he  is  quite  a  fine 
man,  and  honored  us  all  by  giving  us  each  a  splendid  cigar 
and  handing  us  in  person  a  cup  of  coffee  ;  this  he  did  to  no 
other  guests,  the  servants  performing  that  service  for  them  ; 
this  act  of  courtesy  was  done  according  to  our  rank  ;  we  had 
twenty-two  courses  at  dinner. 

"  There  is  a  good  deal  of  Castilian  pride  on  the  part  of  his 
suite  and  they  have  an  intense  hatred  for  the  people  of  Cuba, 
ruling  them  with  a  rod  of  iron  ;  the  strictest  military  disci- 
pline prevails, — seven  thousand  troops  about  the  city.  In  the 
Alameda,  the  drive  around  the  city  walls,  the  people  are 
obliged  to  keep  in  lines  on  one  side,  and  the  horse-guards  are 
stationed  about  to  compel  them  to  do  so  ;  no  person  can  walk 
the  streets  at  night  after  ii  o'clock.  I  could  not  help  smiling 
yesterday  at  the  kind-looking  old  man,  as  he  asked  me  to  take 
wine,  from  whom  all  this  military  discipline  emanates. 

"  There  have  been  several  English  officers  on  board  today 
and  they  were  surprised  at  the  ship. 

"  The  Governor-General  of  Cuba  here  represents  the  King 
of  Spain,  and  is  a  great  man. 

"  I  was  much  struck  with  the  checkered  path  which  life  so 
frequently  reveals,  so  strikingly  manifested  in  the  case  of  Mr. 
Moreland  who  went  home  to  Boston,  having  amassed  an  im- 
mense fortune  after  working  here  for  twenty  years  ;  he  lost  it 
all,  and  was  obliged  to  return  here  in  his  old  age  and  go  to 
work  again.  It  is  said  he  invested  it  all  with  a  slave  dealer  ; 
if  such  is  the  case  he  deserved  to  lose  it.     .     . 

"Vera  Cruz,  Nov.  •jth,  1842, 

"  U.  S.  S.  "^ Missouri.' 

"...  After  a  long  passage  (for  a  steamer)  of  five 
days,  we  are  at  length  at  anchor  off  Vera  Cruz.  Our  bearer 
of  despatches  left  the  ship  for  that  city  this  afternoon  prior 
to  his  departure  for  Mexico. 


12  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

"  The  sloop-of-war  Falmouth  lays  near  us,  having  like  us 
brought  a  bearer  of  despatches,  and  will  sail  in  a  few  days  for 
Pensacola, 

"  The  Captain  would  have  given  any  of  us  permission  to  go 
to  Mexico,  but  the  expense  of  travelling  deterred  all  but  one 
of  us  from  doing  so.  It  was  an  opportunity  I  especially  re- 
gretted not  being  able  to  avail  myself  of,  as  Mexico  is  the  seat 
of  all  the  splendor  of  the  New  World,  rich  in  the  monuments 
of  past  ages,  and  filled  with  what  may  be  termed  the  only 
classical  lore  of  America. 

"  I  did  not  write  you  that  yellow  fever  was  prevalent  in 
Havana  while  we  were  there,  as  I  knew  you  would  be  anxious. 
All  that  worried  me  was  the  thought  of  leaving  you  and  our 
dear  ones  to  struggle  along  as  you  would  have  to  do  in  case  of 
my  death. 

"  We  are  laying  at  a  distance  of  three  miles  from  the  town 
and  fort  ;  near  us  is  an  island  named  Sacrificios,  filled  to  me 
with  associations  of  my  early  career  in  the  Navy  ;  it  was  one  of 
the  first  places  I  came  to  after  my  debut  ;  it  is  now  much 
changed.  The  harsh-toned  convent  bell  which  rested  in  one 
of  the  niches  of  the  walls  is  removed.  The  reefs  around  the 
island  are  still  there,  though  no  doubt  increased  by  the  coral 
insect,  but  notwithstanding  these  changes  and  the  addition 
of  a  cemetery,  in  which  repose  the  bones  of  many  of  the 
French  who  fell  in  the  attack  on  the  Castle,  I  can  still  fancy 
myself  fourteen  years  back,  wading  through  the  water  in 
search  of  shells  and  chasing  the  iguana  over  the  moulder- 
ing walls,     ..." 

"  Batize  Light  House, 

"  Mississippi  River, 

"  U.  S.  S.  'Missouri,'' 

' '  N'ov.  2jd,  1842, 
".  .  .  We  have  left  Vera  Cruz  and  are  now  fast  ap- 
proaching the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi  with  another  bearer 
of  despatches  on  board  and  the  Secretary  of  Legation  bound 
to  Washington.  Our  stay  at  Vera  Cruz  was  but  six  days.  We 
have  several  Texans  with  us  who  went  in  the  Santa  Fe  expedi- 
tion ;  completely  broken  down  in  physique  and  morale,  they 
are  returning  home,  I  hope  wiser  than  they  left  it.     Besides 


Marriage  —  Burning  of  the  Missouri.     13 

these  we  have  a  missionary  from  the  Sandwich  Islands  accom- 
panying a  Minister  Extraordinary  to  the  United  States,  We 
have  also  $14,000  in  specie,  for  which  the  Captain  receives  a 
per  centage  for  carrying,  and  is  consequently  anxious  to  go 
down  to  Vera  Cruz  for  a  much  larger  sum. 

"  The  pilot  has  just  come  on  board,  and  says  it  is  impossible 
to  take  the  ship  to  New  Orleans,  so  of  course  we  go  to  Pensa- 
cola. 

"  Dec,  3d. — Arrived  at  Pensacola,     ..." 

*^U.   S.   Steam-Frigate  ^ Missouri^ 

Norfolk,  Jan.  jist,  1843. 
"...  Arrived  here  Saturday,  29th  inst.  I  have  leave 
to  go  to  Washington,  and  start  to-morrow  with  my  'model.'* 
Captain  Newton  and  all  that  have  seen  it  say  it  is  a  great 
thing.  I  may  not  get  a  patent,  as  it  may  interfere  with 
others,  but  I  will  show  it  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  and 
he  must  give  me  credit  for  ingenuity.     .     .     .  " 

With  a  desire  to  show  the  Missouri  in  European 
waters,  she  was  selected  in  the  summer  of  1843  ^^ 
convey  the  Honorable  Caleb  Gushing,  Minister  to 
China,  as  far  as  Alexandria,  Egypt. 

"6'^.  S.  S.  ^ Missouri,^ 

"  Norfolk,  Va., 

' '  A  ttg.  2d,  184J. 
",     .     .     We  have  orders  to  steam  with  all  despatch   for 
Gibraltar,  show  the  ship  everywhere,  and,  after  landing  Mr. 
Cushing  at  Alexandria,  return  home.     ..." 

"t/.  S.  S.  'Missouri,'' 

"  Fayal,  Azores, 

"'Aug.  igth,  184J. 
" .     .     .     Yesterday  we    came  in  here   and    found    a   brig 
lying  in   harbor,  bound  for  Boston  in  about  two  weeks.     A 
brother  of  Professor  Longfellow  is  here  ;  he  superintends  the 
education  of  our  Consul's  children. 

'  Note. — A  camel  steam-tug  for  carrying  vessels  over  bars.  Winslow 
succeeded  in  procuring  a  patent  for  it,  but  owing  to  lack  of  capital  it  was 
never  put  to  practical  use. 


14 


John  Ancrum  Winslow. 


"  The  island  is  like  one  great  flower  garden,  beautifully- 
cultivated  ;  never  before  have  I  seen  such  a  variety  of  plants 
from  every  clime.  The  splendid  magnolia  and  japonica  trees 
are  here  as  common  as  lilacs  with  us.     ,     .     .  " 

Twenty  years  later  he  was  destined  again  to  land 
upon  these  islands,  weak  and  in  pain,  scarcely  re- 
cuperating from  sickness  and  wounds,  oppressed 
with  the  responsibilities  of  an  actor  in  a  dreadful 
war,  yet  indomitably  assuming  them,  although  he 
might,  without  discredit,  have  remained  at  home 
and  been  nursed  into  perfect  health.  Here,  among 
the  flowers  which  he  so  glowingly  describes,  he  was 
to  await  through  many  months  of  impatience  the 
coming  of  the  ship  whose  name  was  to  be  forever 
linked  with  his  own  in  undying  glory. 

The  Missouri  sailed  from  Fayal  August  21st  and 
arrived  at  Gibraltar  August  25th. 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE    BURNING    OF  THE    MISSOURI. 

A  LAMENTABLE  catastrophe  now  cut  short 
the  career  of  America's  handsome  frigate. 
On  the  evening  of  August  26th,  two  men  were 
lagging  a  cyHnder  by  the  light  of  a  lamp.  A  third 
man  entered  a  storeroom  overhead  to  get  a  pair  of 
scales  and  knocked  a  wrench  down  upon  a  demijohn 
of  spirits  of  turpentine,  breaking  it.  The  spirits 
dropped  down  upon  the  cylinder,  saturated  the  lag- 
ging and  caught  fire  from  the  lamp.  The  confla- 
gration that  followed  is  best  told  by  quoting  part  of 
a  description  of  the  event  published  in  a  New  York 
paper  by  the  late  Rodman  M.  Price,  ex-Governor  of 
New  Jersey,  who  was  the  purser  of  the  ill-fated 
ship  : 

"  In  the  summer  of  1843,  Captain  John  Thomas  Newton, 
commanding  the  U.  S.  Steam-frigate  Missouri,  lying  at  Nor- 
folk, Va.,  was  ordered  to  receive  Caleb  Cushing  on  board  and 
carry  him  to  Alexandria,  Egypt,  en  route  to  China.  Mr.  Cush- 
ing had  just  been  appointed  Minister  Plenipotentiary  and 
Envoy  Extraordinary  to  protect  our  first  commercial  treaty 
with  the  Celestial  Empire,  negociations  having  been  opened 
by  Commodore  Lawrence  Kearney,  then  commanding  the 
United  States  squadron  in  the  China  seas. 

"  The  Missouri  was  a  perfect  specimen  of  naval  architecture 

15 


i6  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

of  2200  tons,  with  two  inclined  engines  of  600  horse-power, 
with  four  copper  boilers,  bark  rigged,  heavily  sparred,  was 
capable  of  keeping  the  seas  under  canvas  alone,  steam  being 
used  only  as  an  auxiliary  power  when  needed. 

"  This  magnificent  ship,  being  the  first  naval  armed  steam- 
ship to  cross  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  to  be  exhibited  to  the  Powers 
of  Europe,  stimulated  the  pride  of  the  ship's  company  to  the 
highest  degree.  Her  officers  were  distinguished  as  gallant 
gentlemen.  No  finer  crew  had  ever  been  mustered  on  the 
deck  of  a  vessel,  while  her  engineers,  then  new  and  important 
officers  to  the  naval  service,  were  thoroughly  skilled  in  all 
their  duties. 

*'  With  President  John  Tyler  on  board,  and  a  distinguished 
party  of  citizens  who  had  come  from  Washington  to  say  adieu 
to  Mr.  Gushing  and  pray  God  speed  to  his  important  mission, 
our  flag  at  the  main,  we  weighed  anchor  from  Hampton  Roads, 
parting  with  the  President  and  his  friends  at  the  Gapes  of  the 
Chesapeake.  No  ship's  company  ever  had  more  delightful 
anticipation  of  a  foreign  cruise. 

"  Gibraltar  was  to  have  been  our  first  port,  but  running  near 
the  Azores,  or  Western  Islands,  Gaptain  Newton,  by  general 
solicitation,  consented  to  touch  at  Fayal,  where  we  remained 
two  days,  during  which  time  we  were  magnificently  entertained 
by  our  Gonsul,  Mr.  Dabney,  and  his  delightful  and  gracious 
family. 

"  We  steamed  away  from  Fayal  to  Gibraltar,  arriving  at  the 
latter  place  in  the  early  afternoon  of  a  delightful  day.  Our 
coming  was  as  unexpected  as  the  astonishment  created  by  it. 
This  surprise  was  not  limited  to  the  large  English  squadron 
commanded  by  Sir  George  Sartorius  (Admiral  of  the  Blue), 
but  was  shared  by  the  Danish  squadron  lying  there,  and  other 
foreign  vessels  of  war  and  merchantmen.  It  extended,  as  well, 
to  the  garrison  and  people  on  shore.  As  the  majestic  Missouri 
steamed  up  the  harbor  at  a  ten-knot  speed  (their  band  playing 
a  national  air)  tlirough  the  numerous  shipping,  hundreds  of 
glasses  were  levelled  at  us  ;  in  coming  to  anchor  every  evolu- 
tion was  executed  with  a  precision  and  in  a  style  only  known  to 
Yankee  sailors,  and  was  watched  by  all  with  an  absorbing  inter- 


The  Burning  of  the  Missouri,  17 

est  ;  indeed,  no  such  steamship  had  before  been  seen.  She 
was,  in  fact,  at  that  time,  a  veritable  steam  leviathan.  The 
size  of  her  hull,  the  beauty  of  her  outline,  her  heavy  spars, 
her  speed,  and  the  gracefulness  of  her  appearance  on  the 
water,  extorted  the  admiration  and  received  the  praise  of 
every  true  sailor.  Boats  immediately  flocked  around,  and  we 
were  the  recipients  of  a  constant  ovation  of  complimentary 
visits.  Admiral  Sartorius  himself  was  the  first  to  call,  and  he 
carefully  and  minutely  inspected  the  ship  and  expressed  his 
gratification  and  admiration,  particularly  with  our  battery. 
Our  two  240-pound  guns  challenged  astonishment,  being  the 
largest  guns  then  afloat — and  ten  68-pounders  made  our  arma- 
ment very  imposing.  A  stay  of  several  days  was  contemplated, 
for  the  purpose  of  taking  in  coal  and  supplies. 

"  On  the  evening  of  the  second  day  after  our  arrival,  the 
ship  was  coaling  and  her  engines  being  overhauled  and  discon- 
nected ;  the  head  of  a  cylinder  was  being  replaced  and  tamped. 
Many  of  the  ofificers'  were  on  shore.  Mr.  Gushing,  Captain 
Newton,  and  the  writer  were  dining  with  the  American  Consul, 
Mr.  Horatio  Sprague,  when  suddenly  from  the  street  was 
heard  the  alarming  cry  :  '  El  frigate  vapor  Americano  es  del 
fuego  ! '  ('  The  American  steamer  is  on  fire  !  ')  It  was  after 
sundown,  and  the  regulations  of  the  garrison  prohibited  boats 
from  landing  at  the  usual  place.  At  one  point  only  boats  were 
permitted  to  land,  known  as  the  water  port,  where  our  boat 
had  been  ordered  at  a  later  hour.  Rushing  hastily  to  the 
water  wall,  we  could  plainly  see  our  ship.  At  first  sight  the 
flames  appeared  as  high  as  her  maintop,  and  seemed  to  mark 
her  inevitable  doom.  We  were  compelled  to  run  a  full  half 
mile  to  the  water  port,  following  in  our  course  the  esplanade 
of  the  water  battery,  the  bastions  making  an  irregular,  uneven 
surface  made  for  the  guns  en  barbette,  causing  us  to  fall,  in  our 
haste,  many  times.  The  English  ofificers  afforded  every  facility 
by  opening  the  portcullis,  letting  down  ladders,  and  lighting 
up  the  water  port  landing.  Fortunately,  just  as  we  reached 
the  moat,  the  Captain's  gig  came  alongside,  and  we  were  pulled 
off  in  the  shortest  possible  time  to  the  ship,  a  mile  distant. 
'  Among  them  Lieutenant  Winslow. 


i8  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

As  we  approached  we  could  hear  the  pumps  working.  The 
crew  were  at  quarters,  and  through  the  ports  the  lurid  glare  of 
the  fire  was  reflected  from  within.  Such,  however,  was  the 
discipline  and  order  maintained  on  board,  as  we  came  near 
the  marine  sentry  in  the  mizzen  chains  gave,  imperturbably, 
the  usual  challenge  :  '  Boat  ahoy  !  '  answered  by  Captain 
Newton,  from  the  fulness  of  an  oppressed  heart,  and  with  an 
agonizing  accent  of  despair  :     '  Missouri' 

"  In  an  instant  four  side  boys  appeared  with  lanterns  at  the 
ladder,  and  we  passed  on  board  with  all  the  usual  honors,  re- 
ceived by  the  executive  officer  as  calmly  as  if  the  crew  had 
been  at  ordinary  exercise.  So  far,  everything  possible  under 
the  circumstances  had  been  done,  but  at  that  moment  there 
was  the  most  imminent  danger  of  the  fire  communicating  with 
the  forward  magazine.  The  fire  had  originated  in  the  engine- 
room,  down  almost  to  the  keelson,  and  had  spread  through  a 
manhole  in  a  watertight  bulkhead,  into  the  engineer's  store- 
room containing  stores  of  the  most  inflammable  character, 
such  as  oils,  turpentine,  and  oakum.  The  fact  that  the  forward 
magazine  was  in  danger  was  well  known  to  the  whole  ship's 
company,  yet  every  man  was  doing  his  duty  as  coolly  as  if  en- 
gaged in  'washing  down  decks.' 

"  On  reaching  the  ship.  Captain  Newton  took  command, 
and  the  dreadful  element  was  fought  with  desperate  determi- 
nation to  save  the  ship. 

"  Water  tanks,  with  hose  and  pumps,  were  sent  off  from 
shore  by  order  of  General  Sir  Henry  Wilson,  commanding  the 
garrison.  Admiral  Sir  Charles  Sartorius  gallantly  came  on 
board  and  took  position  beside  Captain  Newton.  No  boats 
were  allowed  to  come  alongside,  being  informed  of  the  danger 
and  warned  off. 

"  When  it  became  doubtful  -as  to  saving  the  ship,  an  order 
was  given  to  send  Mr.  Cushing  and  his  effects,  together  with 
the  ship's  papers  and  treasure,  ashore.  A  battle  of  more  than 
three  hours'  duration  had  been  fought  against  the  fire.  Ad- 
miral Sartorius  earnestly  and  repeatedly  entreated  Newton  to 
abandon  the  ship  —  he  felt  it  was  criminal  madness  to  longer 
endanger  the  lives  of  the  crew.      His  entreaties  were  unavail- 


The  Burning  of  the  Missouri.  19 

ing,  and  he  left  the  doomed  sliip.  Newton,  after  consultation 
with  the  officers,  reluctantly  gave  the  order  :  '  Every  man 
save  himself  !  '  Many  of  the  exhausted  men  plunged  over- 
board through  the  gun-ports,  and  were  picked  up  by  the  sur- 
rounding boats, —  our  own  boats  were  lowered  away,  and  many 
let  themselves  down  by  the  boat  falls.  After  every  soul  had 
left  the  ship,  the  gallant  Captain  stood  alone  on  the  wheel- 
house,  protecting  himself  from  the  raging  fire,  apparently  hesi- 
tating whether  to  go  in-board  and  perish  with  the  noble  ship,  or 
out-board  and  be  saved.  The  stentorian  voice  of  Sartorius 
could  be  heard  invoking  Newton  to  come  away,  saying  he 
with  his  boat  was  waiting  the  honor  to  receive  him.  At  last, 
Newton  dropped  hand  under  hand  by  a  single  rope  over  the 
ship's  side  into  the  arms  of  his  own  boat's  crew,  who  had  just 
returned  from  carrying  Mr.  Gushing  on  shore.  By  this  time, 
so  much  of  the  ship  was  in  flames  as  to  light  up  the  harbor 
and  the  numerous  shipping,  and  the  sombre  city,  reflecting 
back  the  frowning  fortress  and  the  towering  Rock  of  Gibraltar. 
The  scene  was  vivid  and  surpassingly  grand.  All  the  vessels 
had  been  moved  beyond  the  line  of  danger.  We  had  not 
reached  that  line  in  our  boats  when  one  of  the  quarter-deck 
guns  went  off  —  a  68-pounder  —  the  cartridge  having  been 
ignited  by  the  intense  heat  communicated  to  the  gun,  the  bat- 
tery having  been  charged  with  saluting  cartridges.  Simulta- 
neously with  the  report  of  the  gun,  as  if  giving  the  signal,  the 
forward  magazine  exploded,  and  the  masts  went  by  the  board. 
The  hulk  soon  settled  and  speedily  sank  ;  the  illumination 
went  suddenly  out,  and  the  waters  were  hushed  in  darkness. 

"  The  officers  and  men,  bruised  and  exhausted,  escaped  in 
their  burnt  and  torn  clothing,  and  were  distributed  among  the 
many  vessels  lying  at  anchor  in  the  harbor.  All  were  invited 
on  board  the  Malabar,  a  line-of -battle  ship  bearing  the  flag  of 
Admiral  Sartorius.  Gaptain  Newton  and  most  of  the  officers 
got  on  shore,  and  quarters  were  provided  for  them  by  our 
Consul.  Those  who  accepted  the  Admiral's  invitation  re- 
ceived warm,  cordial  hospitality  and  every  kindly  attention. 
The  next  morning  some  of  our  officers  went  on  shore  in  the 
uniform  of  the  English  Navy,  one  midshipman,  in  the  uniform 


20  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

of  the  Admiral,  causing  much  merriment  as  he  received  and 
acknowledged  the  salute  due  to  his  high  insignia  of  rank  from 
the  sentry  of  the  garrison.  The  friendly  aid,  and  the  many 
courteous  attentions  so  delicately  conferred  upon  us  by  the 
English  authorities  will  never  be  forgotten  by  the  recipients. 
Had  we  been  their  countrymen,  they  could  not  have  done 
more.  It  was  a  renewed  proof  that  '  blood  is  thicker  than 
water.' 

"  On  mustering  the  crew,  it  was  found  that  not  a  single 
soul  was  lost ;  and  nothing  was  saved  from  the  ship  ex- 
cept the  chronometers  and  what  went  in  the  boat  with  Mr. 
Gushing.     .     .     . 

"  The  American  ship  Rajah  was  chartered,  provisioned,  and 
watered,  and  350  officers  and  men  were  sent  on  board  and 
sailed  for  home  after  a  detention  of  only  forty-eight  hours. 
The  remainder  of  the  crew  were  assigned  to  the  bark  Pons, 
which  had  also  been  chartered,  to  remain  near  the  scene  of 
the  wreck  to  save  what  property  could  be  secured.  Sub- 
marine divers  were  employed,  who  suceeeded  in  raising  the 
engines  and  the  valuable  copper  boilers,  which  were  sent 
home,  and  the  wreck  was  destroyed  so  as  not  to  endanger 
navigation. 

"  After  a  few  days'  detention,  Mr.  Gushing  left  on  one  of 
the  Oriental  line  of  steamships  for  Alexandria. 

"  Immediately  after  the  disaster,  Gaptain  Newton  sent  Lieu- 
tenant John  A.  Winslow  home  via  England,  with  despatches 
to  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  announcing  the  loss  of  the  Mis- 
souri and  asking  instructions  from  the  Government,  Gaptain 
Newton  deciding  to  await  Lieutenant  Winslow's  return." 

It  was  an  evidence  of  high  esteem  upon  the  part 
of  his  commanding  officer  that  Winslow  was  se- 
lected to  be  sent  home  with  despatches  announ- 
cing this  catastrophe.  He  sailed  from  Gibraltar 
for  England  in  a  packet,  August  31st,  and  took  a 
Cunard  steamer  from  Liverpool  for  Boston.  Ar- 
riving in  that  city  at  night,   he  went  directly  to 


The  Burning  of  the  Missouri.  2 1 

his  home,  and  finding  the  household  wrapped  in 
slumber,  began  to  sing  beneath  his  wife's  window  : 

"  Gaily  the  troubadour  touched  his  guitar 
As  he  was  hastening  home  from  the  war, 
Singing,  '  From  Palestine  hither  I  come, 
Lady-love,  lady-love,  welcome  me  home.'  " 

His  young  wife,  although  believing  that  her  hus- 
band was  sailing  through  the  far-off  Mediter- 
ranean, knew  that  no  one  else  would  be  singing 
that  song  to  her,  and  rushed  to  the  window  ex- 
claiming in  tones  of  gladness  and  incredulity  : 

"  Why,  John,  is  that  you  ?" 

"Yes,"  he  replied. 

So  great  was  her  mingled  surprise  and  anxiety 
that  she  exclaimed  : 

"  What  did  you  ever  come  home  for  ?  " 

He  laughingly  answered  : 

"  Come  down  and  let  me  in  and  I  '11  tell  you." 

Winslow  reported  at  Washington  October  5th 
and  was  ordered  to  return  to  Gibraltar  with  des- 
patches for  Captain  Newton.  He  therefore  retraced 
his  route,  via  England,  Lisbon  and  Cadiz,  and 
rejoined  his  commander  at  Gibraltar,  November 
nth. 

"  Gibraltar,  Nov.  i8,  1843. 
"  I  arrived  here  Nov.  i6th,  found  Captain  Newton  delighted 
beyond  everything  at  the  result  of  my  visit  to  Washington.  I 
found  the  wreck  of  the  Missouri  in  the  same  situation  as 
when  I  left  for  the  United  States.  The  Captain,  Purser,  and 
Engineer  and  some  men  remaining  here  and  an  English  diver 
with  submarine  armor  employed  on  the  wreck,  they  had  re- 
covered property  to  the  amount  of  twenty  thousand  dollars. 


22  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

and  they  are  continuing  to  bring  up  materials,  and  when  the 
ship  has  been  well  cleared  out  I  think  there  will  be  an  attempt 
to  raise  her  by  stopping  up  all  the  holes  and  building  her  up 
again  with  rough  boards  and  then  pumping  her  out  ;  if  Ihis 
does  not  succeed  she  will  be  blown  to  pieces  by  the  galvanic 
process  and  then  parts  will  be  brought  up.  We  have  been 
trying  to  contract  for  this  purpose,  but  no  one  will  come  for- 
ward, were  it  not  for  this  we  could  start  for  home  at  once." 

Resuming  Price's  narration  : 

"  After  Winslow's  return,  he  and  I  accepted  an  invitation 
from  the  Marquis  of  Lome,  the  present  Duke  of  Argyle,  to 
accompany  his  travelling  party  to  Tangiers,  on  the  opposite 
coast  of  Africa,  for  wild  boar  hunting.  The  party  was  a 
delightful  one  and  the  occasion  led  to  many  pleasant  and 
romantic  adventures.  Several  dashing  young  English  officers 
belonging  to  the  garrison  and  accustomed  to  riding  with  the 
hounds  fox  hunting  in  Spain,  near  Gibraltar,  and  some  naval 
officers  from  the  fleet  swelled  the  list  of  the  company.  The 
riding  and  hunting  over  the  rough  country  of  the  coast  of 
Barbary  was  of  the  most  wild,  reckless,  daring  character. 
Winslow,  not  so  much  of  a  horseman  as  sailor,  anxious  to  keep 
up,  only  succeeded  on  the  first  day's  hunt  in  burying  his  horse 
in  a  quicksand,  from  which  he  and  the  animal  were  with 
difficulty  extricated.  It  is  pleasant  to  note  that  Winslow  was 
saved  from  an  unheroic  death  to  become  the  distinguished 
officer  and  hero  as  Captain  of  the  U.  S.  S.  Kearsarge,  which 
destroyed  the  celebrated  Confederate  ship  Alabama.     .     .     , 

"  The  Marquis  of  Lome,  then  under  his  majority,  was  on  an 
extended  tour  of  travel,  accompanied  by  a  suite  of  tutors  and 
instructors  equal  in  number  to  the  average  faculty  of  our 
colleges." 

The  yacht  returned  to  Marseilles  and  the  party 
proceeded  via  Paris  to  England,  where  Captain 
Newton  and  his  officers  took  a  Cunard  steamer 
for  home  in  January,  1844. 


The  Burning  of  the  Missouri.  23 

After  an  uninterrupted  spring  and  summer  with 
his  family,  young  Winslow  was  summoned  to 
Washington  in  the  following  October  as  a  witness 
before  the  court-martial  trying  Captain  Newton  and 
other  officers  for  the  loss  of  the  Missouri. 

"Washington, 

"  Oct.  nth,  ''44. 
*' .  .  .  Newton  delivered  his  defence  yesterday  and 
the  trial  of  the  Chief  Engineer  commences  to-morrow.  I 
am  afraid  it  will  go  hard  with  him  —  the  best  men  suffer  the 
most  in  this  world  —  I  think  Newton  will  be  honorably 
acquitted/     .     .     ." 

'  Captain  Newton  was  found  guilty  of  negligence  and  sentenced  to  two 
years'  suspension  from  duty.  After  three  months,  the  unexpired  portion 
was  remitted.     The  chief  engineer  was  suspended  for  one  year. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


BEGINNING  OF  THE  WAR  WITH    MEXICO. 


DURING  the  winter  and  spring  of  1845 
Winslow  was  seriously  ill  at  his  home  with 
erysipelas.  In  April  of  that  year  he  was  ordered 
to  the  Vincennes,  but  was  compelled  to  inform  the 
Navy  Department  of  his  ill  health,  and  these  orders 
were  revoked.  Recovering;-  somewhat  durinof  the 
summer  and  autumn,  he  was  ordered  to  the  U.  S.  S. 
Cumberland,  in  December,  1845,  ^s  a  watch  and 
division  officer.  This  ship  was  fitting  out  for  a 
cruise  in  the  Mediterranean,  but  war-clouds  were 
gathering  thick  and  fast  towards  Mexico.  Texas 
had  been  annexed  to  the  American  Union  in  the 
preceding  January,  and  the  annexation  had  been 
ratified  in  the  Senate  the  following  July.  Mexico 
had  not  recognized  Texan  independence  and  was 
debating  upon  the  annexation  as  a  casus  belli.  The 
commercial  indemnity  claims  were  still  unpaid  ;  a 
peace-loving  president,  Herrera,  had  just  been  over- 
thrown by  a  hot-headed  general,  Paredes  ;  and  open 
rupture  with  the  United  States  seemed  imminent. 
So  the  destination  of  the  Cinnberland  was  abruptly 
changed,  and  she  was  assigned  to  the  Gulf  Squad- 

24 


Va/  it  £  D        ^ 


St  A  T   £    S 


ite 


O 
X 


_^  —  —  4  T^a }-n  fsi  c  o 


\^ 


\  JVieK  L  CO 


.^^^ 


Gen.  Taylors  Invasion 


Gen.  Scott's  Invasion 


THEATRE  OF  OPERATIONS,  MEXICAN  WAR 


Beginning  of  the  War  with  Mexico      25 

ron  to  become  the  flagship  of  Commodore  Connor. 
She  left  Nantasket  Roads,  February  3,  1846,  and 
the  Commodore  hoisted  his  flag  on  her  after  she 
reached  Vera  Cruz,  in  the  beginning  of  March.  At 
that  time  the  two  governments  were  in  the  last 
ditch  of  diplomatic  wrangle,  Mexico  being  ready 
to  relinquish  Texas  as  far  south  as  the  Rio  Nueces, 
while  that  State,  supported  by  the  United  States, 
claimed  the  Rio  Grande  as  the  boundary.  Our 
special  commissioner,  Mr.  John  Slidell,  accredited 
to  the  government  of  Herrera  with  full  power  to 
amicably  adjust  the  difference,  had  been  refused  an 
audience  by  Herrera's  successor,  and  General 
Zachary  Taylor  was  awaiting  instructions  at  Corpus 
Christi,  on  the  Rio  Nueces,  with  3600  men. 

"  U,  S.  S.  ''Cumberland^ 

"Vera  Cruz,  Mar.  4,  1846. 

"...  I  closed  a  letter  yesterday,  written  from  time  to 
time  during  our  cruise,  giving  you  an  account  of  my  illness,' 
during  which  I  have  had  quarters  in  tne  cabin.  I  am  still 
quite  weak,  though  convalescing  and  hope  soon  to  be  able  to 
attend  to  duty.     .     .     . 

'  "  .  .  .  As  there  is  a  probability  of  a  rupture  with  Mexico, 
I  look  forward  with  the  utmost  anxiety  to  some  decisive 
movement  by  the  Mexicans.  Our  minister,  Slidell,  still  re- 
mains at  Jalapa,  not  received  by  the  Government  ;  we  are 
quietly  waiting  orders  from  Washington  as  to  the  steps  we 
shall  take.  General  Taylor,  who  has  been  encamped  at 
Corpus  Christi  in  Texas  for  the  last  year,  has  been  ordered  to 
march  upon  the  Rio  Grande  del  Norte  and  one  of  the 
squadron  of  vessels  sailed  yesterday  to  be  in  waiting  for  any 
despatches.  Our  minister,  Slidell,  has  notified  the  Mexican 
Government  that  he  must  be  received  or  his  passports  must  be 

'  Erysipelas. 


26  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

sent  him.  This  may  bring  on  a  crisis,  though  I  think  the 
Mexicans  are  determined  to  protract  as  much  as  possible. 
Offensive  operations  on  our  part  will  probably  amount  to 
nothing  more  than  a  blockade  of  the  coast.  The  Commodore 
has  notified  the  Department  that  without  a  heavy  force  no 
attack  on  the  fort  should  be  made  and  I  do  not  think  he 
would  attempt  it,  as  the  fort  is  quite  heavily  manned  and 
armed  now. 

"  .  .  .  of  our  position — around  us  are  three  or  four 
American  ships,  one  Spanish,  a  French,  and  an  English  man- 
of-war.  We  are  all  lying  at  a  small  island,  three  miles 
from  Vera  Cruz,  called  Sacrificios  where  the  ancient  Mexicans 
were  in  the  habit  of  sacrificing  human  beings  to  their  gods. 
We  have  no  communication  with  the  town,  quietly  waiting 
events.  The  Commodore  (Connor)  has  come  on  board  and 
says  in  ten  days  affairs  will  be  settled  and  we  shall  know  what 
the  Mexicans  intend.     .     .     ." 

"£/,  S.  S.  'Cumberland,' 

"  Off  Sacrificios, 

"  March  g,  1846. 

"  .  .  .  By  newspapers  we  have  seen  the  passage  of 
the  Oregon  question  through  the  House.  Our  own  people 
seem  mad  with  their  braggart  course  in  this  question,  while 
England,  with  a  power  that  could  crush  us,  mildly  invokes 
pacific  measures.  I  think  it  ungenerous  in  the  United  States. 
We  have  an  English  man-of-war  near  us,  with  a  fine  set  of 
ofificers  on  board,  and  joking  together  we  have  agreed  (in  case 
of  war)  that  whichever  is  successful  should  secure  for  the 
other  good  quarters  in  prison. 

"...  We  learn  that  Commodore  Perry  is  coming 
out  in  the  Indepe?idence  to  relieve  Commodore  Connor. 
(Commo.  Connor  has  made  us  cut  our  whiskers  off)." 

"6''.  S.  S.   'Cumberland^ 

"  Vera  Cruz,  Mar.  17,  1S46. 

"...  It  is  tedious  waiting  for  the  decision  of  the 
Mexicans  whether  or  not  to  receive  our  U.  S.  Minister,  Mr. 
Slidell.     Mexico  is  in  a  state  of  anarchy,  rebellion,  and  insur- 


Beginning  of  the  War  with  Mexico.     27 

rection  secretly  working  everywhere.  She  is  at  the  mercy  of 
the  strongest  military  leader.  The  military,  all  officers  and  no 
soldiers,  are  plotting  for  their  own  aggrandizement.     .     .     . 

"  Mr.  Slidell,  U.  S.  Minister,  was  rejected  by  the  Mexican 
Government,  who  voted  to  receive  a  Commissioner  from  the 
United  States  to  agree  upon  terms  connected  with  running  the 
boundary  line  of  Texas,  etc.  Mr.  Polk,  in  consequence,  sends 
a  minister  plenipotentiary  and  the  result  is  that  the  Mexicans 
can  delay  a  little  longer  in  good  faith.     .     . 

'*  The  island  of  Sacrificios,  where  we  land,  is  perhaps  four 
acres  in  area,  mostly  covered  by  cane-breaks.  On  one  side  is 
a  small  graveyard  with  many  head  boards  of  men  who  have 
died  of  fever,  etc.,  and  one  or  two  monuments.  One  of  these 
is  erected  to  French  officers  who  fell  in  the  capture  of  Vera 
Cruz.  The  inscription  gives  the  names  and  rank,  and  the 
words,  "  They  fell  in  the  performance  of  their  duty."  Such 
is  fame  and  the  world's  praise, — but  a  bubble  which  too  soon 
displays  its  emptiness. 

"  March  27,  1846.  Minister  Slidell  took  his  passports  and 
has  written  he  will  come  on  board." 

"  £/.  S.  S.  ''Cumberland' 
"  Vera  Cruz, 

' '  March  jo,  184.6. 

"  The  U.  S.  S.  Mississippi  has  just  come  in  (four  and  a  half 
days  from  Pensacola).  Minister  Slidell  has  just  arrived  from 
Mexico.  The  Mexicans  have  refused  to  receive  him  while  a 
squadron  is  laying  here,  and  the  Mississippi  takes  him  back  to 
the  United  States.     ..." 

While  Mr.  Slidell  was  still  vainly  seeking  audi- 
ence with  Paredes,  General  Taylor  received  orders 
from  Washington  to  advance  to  the  Rio  Grande 
opposite  Matamoras,  which  he  promptly  did,  and 
on  April  26  a  party  of  his  dragoons  was  ambushed 
by  the  Mexican  soldiers,  and  a  number  were  killed. 
When  General  Taylor's  action  became  known,  Mr. 


28  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

Slidell  was  promptly  given  his  passports,  and  war 
became  inevitable.  Taylor  drew  back  his  depot  at 
Point  Isabel  to  secure  his  communications,  and 
again  advanced  to  the  Rio  Grande,  where,  on  May 
8,  he  found  before  him  the  Mexican  General  Arista 
with  a  much  superior  force.  Meanwhile  the  squad- 
ron off  Vera  Cruz  had  been  ordered  to  Taylor's 
support. 

"f/.  S.  S.  'Cumder/a/id,' 

"  A/ay  J,  1846. 

"  Since  my  last  letter,  we  have  left  Sacrificios  and  are  on 
our  way  to  the  Rio  Grande  del  Norte  to  co-operate  with  the 
army.  We  left  on  the  morning  of  the  4th  with  five  sail  of 
vessels,  two  equal  to  us  in  force  and  two  smaller.  After  a  day 
of  agreeable  diversion  in  testing  the  sailing  qualities  of  the 
vessels,  we  are  now  in  company  with  only  two,  the  others 
having  been  beaten  and  lost  sight  of  in  the  night.     .     .     .  " 

"  f/.  S.  S.  ''Cumberland^ 

"  May  8,  1846. 

"  We  have  arrived  at  the  mouth  of  the  Rio  Grande  and  our 
anchor  is  just  down,  when  one  of  the  vessels  is  ordered  off  to 
New  Orleans.  .  .  .  You  have  no  doubt  heard  before  this 
of  the  commencement  of  the  War  with  Mexico  ;  seventy  dra- 
goons having  fallen  into  an  ambush  laid  by  the  Mexicans. 
Thus  the  war  commences  which  will  be  a  short  one  I  think, 
though  the  Mexicans  have  come  out  very  well  and  have  disap- 
pointed us  in  their  manner  of  fighting  which  is  one  of  strata- 
gem  altogether.  Instead  of  civilized  warfare,  they  lay  in  wait 
and  rise  up  like  Indians. 

"  Today,  we  think  General  Taylor  is  fighting  :  he  will  cross 
the  river  upon  Matamoras,  no  doubt.  He  is  an  enthusiastic 
old  man  and  says  he  will  march  upon  Mexico.  This  with 
about  3,000  troops  against  15,000  is  saying  much,  though  no 
doubt,  if  he  can  get  them  in  a  plain,  he  will  do  it.  We  are 
about  declaring  the  coast  of  Mexico  in  a  state  of  blockade. 
The  Mexicans  have  sold  their  Navy  to  the  English,  so  we 
cannot  expect  much  prize  money.     .     .     ." 


Beginning  of  the  War  with  Mexico.     29 

"  U.  S.  S.  ''Cumberland,* 

"  Brazos  de  Santiago, 

"  May  10,  1S46. 

"  I  have  but  a  moment  to  write  you.  The  day  before  we 
came  in,  General  Taylor  marched  off  from  this  place  to 
meet  the  Mexicans  and  to  carry  up  to  the  camp  (opposite 
to  the  town  of  Matamoras)  his  supply  of  provisions  and  arms. 
The  Mexicans,  having  knowledge  of  all  his  movements  and  the 
cause,  threw  upwards  of  8,000  troops  between  this  place  and 
the  American  camp  which  is  twenty-six  miles  distant.  Seven- 
teen miles  from  here  in  an  open  plain,  the  Mexicans  met  our 
army  with  S,ooo  men  and  gave  them  battle,  fighting  all  day  till 
the  night  separated  the  combatants."  ' 

"  U.  S.  S.  ^Cumberland' 

"  Brazos  de  Santiago, 

''May  17,  1846. 

"  We  have  moved  the  squadron  from  the  Brazos  to  the 
mouth  of  the  Rio  del  Norte  with  the  intention  of  watering. 
A  few  days  ago  it  would  have  been  impossible  to  have  entered 
tiie  river  ;  but  the  complexion  of  things  has  very  much  altered 
since  then.  The  Mexicans  are  now  broken-spirited,  suing  for 
mercy,  without  money  or  provisions,  and  the  peasantry  almost 
in  a  state  of  insurrection  to  the  military.  The  loss  to  the 
Mexicans  of  two  battles  '  will  do  more  towards  settling  this 
difficulty  about  territory  than  all  the  diplomacy  in  the  world. 

"  General  Taylor  is  now  throwing  posts  along  the  river  and, 
though  he  says  he  can  take  Matamoras  at  any  moment  by  at- 
tack, yet  he  prefers  starving  it  out  and  saving  the  life  which 
otherwise  would  be  lost.  This  is  humane  and  shows  a  man  of 
consideration.  He  says  that  the  army  have  acted  so  gallantly 
that  he  will  not  expose  them  unnecessarily.  General  Taylor 
is  a  man  of  fine  feelings  and  of  great  sympathy  for  distress. 
When  the  Mexican  general "  left  Point  Isabel  for  New  Orleans, 
he  asked  him  if  he  was  a  married  man,  when,  being  answered 
in  the  affirmative,  he  told  him  to  write  any  communications 
freely  and  they  should  be  sacred,  gave  him  a  letter  of  credit 

'  Battle  of  Palo  Alto. 

'  Palo  Alto  and  Resaca  de  la  Palma.  May  8  and  9.  ^  Captured. 


30  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

upon  his  banker,  and  despatched  a  steamboat  to  take  him  to 
the  United  States. 

"  I  pity  these  people,  they  are  so  deluded.  It  is  impossible 
for  them  to  do  anything  against  the  United  States.  Such 
numbers  have  been  whipped  by  so  few  of  our  men.  In  one 
action  their  killed  and  wounded  amounted  to  1200  and  ours 
less  than  200.  However,  this  will  tend  to  a  more  speedy 
termination  of  the  war.     .     .     ." 

"  i/.  5.  5".  '  Cnmberland,' 
"  Mouth  of  River  Rio  Grande, 

''May  21,  1846. 

"  I  closed  my  last  letter  very  hurriedly  on  the  morning  of 
the  i8th  instant,  owing  to  my  being  on  an  expedition  which 
was  bound  up  the  Rio  Grande.  We  went  up  and  took  the 
town  of  Barita,  the  port  of  entry  to  Matamoras  ;  and  there 
being  no  further  use  of  the  squadron  at  the  Brazos,  since  the 
whole  Mexican  army  have  run  away  and  left  everything  in  our 
possession,  we  have  commenced  our  legitimate  cruising.  I 
must  tell  you  that  notwithstanding  I  was  in  the  conjoined 
army  and  navy  expedition  which  took  Barita,  I  never  saw  a 
Mexican  soldier,  and  I  doubt  if  any  of  the  army  and  navy  will 
ever  see  another  ;  for  I  expect  (though  there  may  be  some  left 
at  posts)  that,  following  the  example  exhibited  at  Barita,  they 
will  all  shake  the  dirt  of  the  post  off  their  heels  in  the  same 
rapid  manner  on  the  appearance  of  any  of  our  men.  You  will 
see  by  the  papers  the  progress  of  the  war  and  the  certain 
omens  of  peace  ;  the  refusal  of  General  Taylor  to  cease  hos- 
tilities at  the  solicitation  of  General  Arista.  We  left  the  Rio 
Grande  on  the  21st  to  rejoin  the  ship  again  after  our  expedi- 
tion up  that  river,  and  are  now  on  our  way  to  Pensacola. 
.  .  .  .  Many  of  the  inhabitants  had  left  Barita  for  fear  of 
the  Mexicans  dealing  harshly  with  them,  on  their  return,  for 
encouraging  us.  Among  those  that  remained  was  a  poor 
family,  a  mother  and  daughter,  both  with  an  equal  number  of 
children.  One  of  our  army  officers  had  taken  up  his  quarters 
in  their  house,  and  we  occasionally  received  a  meal  there  as  in 
a  tavern.  I  felt  all  my  sympathies  enlisted  for  them  ;  the  men 
of  the  family  had  been  pressed  into  the  army  and  might  be 


Beginning  of  the  War  with  Mexico.     31 

called  upon  to  storm  the  town  and  retake  it,  and  possibly  their 
very  guns  might  be  the  weapons  to  slay  their  own  wives  and 
children.  Such  is  one  of  the  horrors  of  war,  the  thought  of  it 
is  enough  to  disgust  all  good  men.  I  was  glad  that  General 
Taylor  had  no  necessity  of  firing  on  Matamoras,  to  take  it,  for 
Heaven  knows  how  much  misery  and  distress  it  might  have 
occasioned  ;  it  is  cheering  to  know  that  our  army  is  so  re- 
stricted by  discipline  that  no  violence  or  insult  will  be  offered 
the  inhabitants,  which  I  am  told  is  very  different  from  the 
course  of  the  Mexican  army,  who  plundered  and  pillaged 
everything.  I  was  glad,  too,  that  Matamoras  surrendered  so 
soon,  as  it  was  intended  to  starve  it  out.  Flour  had  already 
risen  to  seventy  dollars  a  barrel  and,  had  not  the  Mexican 
troops  taken  flight,  I  fear  the  innocent  inhabitants  would  have 
suffered  more  from  famine  than  from  shot  or  shells. 

"  May  23.  —  The  war  I  look  upon  as  ended.  The  death  of 
Louis  Phillipe  will  forever  put  at  rest  the  Oregon  question  and 
Mexico  is  a  bugbear.     .     .     ." 

"  U.  S.  S.  '  Cumberland' 

"  Pensacola,  June  8,  1S46. 

"  .  .  .  The  vanity  of  courage  and  glory  has  no  charm 
for  me  when  I  think  of  the  misery  and  bleeding  hearts  that 
everywhere  strew  its  tracks  I  wonder  how  mad  men  become 
to  be  so  tickled  with  emptiness." 

"  Pensacola,  June  10,  1846. 

"...  The  Commodore  has  been  advised  of  a  revolu- 
tion which  is  going  on  in  Mexico,  and  we  have  been  asked  not 
to  commence  any  operations  against  Vera  Cruz  until  it  is  de- 
cided, we  think  a  show  of  force  before  Vera  Cruz  will  no  doubt 
bring  matters  to  a  crisis.  Santa  Anna  will  arrive  there  by 
steamer  of  the  15th  from  Havana,  when  he  will  take  up  his 
march  to  put  down  Paredes. 

"  This  is  the  cause  of  our  leaving  here  so  suddenly.  .  .  . 
I  see  no  fear  of  any  attack  on  our  side,  we  are  not  strong 
enough  by  five  times  our  force  to  attack  the  Castle,  and  the 
moral  effect  of  defeat  would  be  ruinous  to  our  reputation." 


32  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

^'  C/,  S.  S.  ^  Cumberland,^ 

"  At  sea,  June  21,  1846. 

"  We  should  have  been  at  Vera  Cruz  ere  this  but  for  the 
light  winds  which  prevail  at  this  season  of  the  year,  in  the 
latitude  from  29°  to  26°,  having  delayed  us.  These  are  called 
horse  latitudes  by  sailors,  and  their  origin  is  singular,  many 
years  ago  they  were  in  the  habit  of  taking  large  numbers  of 
horses  to  the  West  Indies  in  exchange  for  products,  and  the 
traders  were  frequently  becalmed  two  or  three  weeks,  and, 
their  water  being  consumed,  they  were  obliged  to  cut  the 
horses'  throats,  hence  the  name. 

"  After  writing  this,  during  my  watch  on  deck,  a  man  was 
lost  overboard,  in  obeying  my  orders  to  take  in  some  of  the 
light  sail,  it  having  become  squally.  Every  effort  was  made  to 
save  him,  of  which  he  was  unable  to  avail  himself.  He  was 
probably  hurt  in  falling  and  sunk  to  rise  no  more,  which  filled 
me  with  sorrow  from  the  fact  that  his  life  was  lost  in  obeying 
my  order,  and  threw  a  gloom  over  my  feelings.     .     .     ." 

''  U.  S.  S.  '  Cumberland' 

"  June  24,  1846. 

"Yesterday,  we  approached  Vera  Cruz  and  ere  night  set  in, 
the  Princeton,  which  lay  off  the  mouth  of  the  channel,  came 
running  down  to  us,  one  of  the  crew  who  manned  the  boat 
which  came  off  from  her  was  a  brother  of  the  man  who  was 
lost  overboard  the  day  previous  and  whom  he  had  not  seen  for 
ten  years.  It  was  a  melancholy  thing  to  inform  him  of  his 
brother's  fate. 

"  Inside  at  Sacrificios  are  several  foreign  vessels  at  anchor. 
The  Raritan  is  also  here.  Santa  Anna  did  not  arrive  on  the 
steamer  but  remains  at  Havana,  from  what  cause  I  know  not, 
though  he  was  to  lead  the  revolution  against  Paredes,  and  all 
the  country  have  declared  in  his  favor. 

"...  We  have  news  from  Mexico  that  General  Taylor 
was  marching  to  Monterey  with  9,000  men  ;  no  doubt  by 
this  time  he  has  taken  it.  He  writes  to  the  Commodore  that 
he  expects  to  be  at  San  Luis  Potosi  by  the  latter  part  of  July. 
Should  this  be  the  case  it  will  not  be  long  ere  he  has  made  a 
conquest  of  Mexico.  He  will  soon  end  the  war  himself.  I 
have  only  reports  to  give  you — nothing  reliable.     .     .     ." 


CHAPTER  V. 

BLOCKADING    MEXICAN    PORTS. 

MEXICO  was  now  without  a  vestige  of  a 
navy  ;  had  no  alHes,  and  no  commerce  to 
be  destroyed.  General  Taylor  had  advanced  into 
the  interior  of  the  country  and  his  communications 
were  absolutely  assured.  Our  navy  was  consid- 
ered not  strong  enough  to  repeat  that  brilliant  ex- 
ploit of  the  French,  the  capture  of  the  castle  of  San 
Juan  d'Ulloa  and  the  city  of  Vera  Cruz,  so  nothing 
remained  but  to  blockade  Mexican  ports  and  cut  off 
supplies. 

Soon  after  this  blockade  commenced  Winslow 
was  brought  into  companionship  with  a  new  mess- 
mate on  the  Cumberland.  Lieut.  Raphael  Semmes 
was  selected  from  another  vessel  by  Commodore 
Connor  to  fill  a  vacancy  on  his  personal  staff. 
Semmes  well  describes  the  depressing  occupation 
that  fell  to  the  fleet : 


"  During  the  whole  of  this  period,  we  were  confined  to  our 
ships,  and  engaged  in  the  most  arduous  and  active  cruising. 
A  rigid  blockade  was  maintained  of  all  the  enemy's  ports,  and 
his  small  merchant  marine  was  entirely  swept  from  the  sea. 
During   the  parching   heats    of   summer   and    the    long   and 

33 


34  John  Ancrum  Winslow 

boisterous  nights  of  the  winter,  our  vigilance  was  expected  to 
be,  and  was,  unremitting.  We  frequently  lived  on  the  ship's 
ration,  having  no  other  means  of  supplying  our  table,  and  our 
only  clean  shirts  were  such  as  Jack  rinsed  out  for  us  in  a 
bucket  of  salt  water,  and  hung  up  by  a  rope-yarn  to  rough- 
dry,  in  the  rigging.  We  of  the  flagship  lay  most  of  the  time  at 
Anton  Lizardo — a  harbor  formed  by  several  small  barren 
islands,  rising  no  more  than  a  foot  or  two  above  the  sea-level, 
— which  was  even  more  irksome  than  active  service  on  the 
blockade.  We  looked  forth  from  our  ships  as  from  a  prison, 
upon  the  glittering  specks  of  sand,  glowing  like  so  many  fur- 
naces, beneath  a  tropical  sun,  day  after  day,  without  other 
variation  than  the  occasional  arrival  of  one  of  the  block- 
ading squadron,  to  fill  up  with  water  and  provisions,  and  de- 
part again  on  her  cruise.  Thither  we  resorted  toward  sunset 
every  evening,  when  the  weather  was  propitious,  to  stretch  our 
cramped  limbs,  smoke  an  idle  cigar,  and  talk  over  the  events 
of  the  war  ;  a  war,  for  the  navy,  of  toils  and  vigils,  without  the 
prospect  of  either  excitement  or  glory.  The  enemy  had  no 
navy,  and  what  little  maritime  commerce  he  had  once  possessed 
we  had  already  destroyed.  .  .  .  We  juniors  chafed  some- 
what under  the  curb  which  was  thus  placed  on  our  ambition 
of  emulating  the  army  in  its  glorious  achievements  :  but  now 
that  the  excitement  of  war  has  passed,  we  cannot  but  recognize 
the  wisdom  of  the  course  of  our  superiors.  .  ,  .  But  the 
navy,  none  the  less,  continued  to  perform  its  arduous  and  thank- 
less duties.  Drenched  with  rain  by  day  and  night,  and  a  part 
of  the  time,  on  an  allowance  of  moldy  and  worm-eaten  bread, 
the  officers  and  seamen  of  the  several  blockading  ships,  never 
lost  sight  (except  when  occasionally  driven  off  by  a  norther) 
of  the  enemy's  coast.  Although  Vera  Cruz,  by  reason  of  the 
dangerous  ground  in  its  vicinity,  is  one  of  the  hardest  ports  in 
the  world  to  blockade,  especially  during  the  violent  gales 
of  winter,  I  venture  to  say  that  the  history  of  no  other  block- 
ade presents  so  few  instances  of  the  successful  attempts  of 
cupidity  to  evade  the  vigilance  of  cruisers.  Although  Anton 
Lizardo,  where  we  lay  at  anchor  in  the  flagship,  was  some 
twelve  miles  distant  from  Vera  Cruz,  the  officer  of  the  morn- 


Blockading  Mexican  Ports  35 

ing  watch — frequently  after  a  tempestuous  night — was  sure  to 
see,  by  the  aid  of  his  spy-glass,  at  early  dawn,  the  blockading 
ship  standing  in,  under  easy  and  majestic  sail,  for  the  frowning 
old  castle  of  San  Juan  d'Ulloa."  ' 

Synopsis  of  letters,  July  i  to  30,  1846  : 

"  U.  S.  S.  ^  Cumberland^ 
"  Vera  Cruz. 

"  What  I  wrote  to  you  about  the  war  with  Mexico  proves  true; 
we  have  little  to  do  but  lay  here  to  keep  neutral  vessels  from 
entering  the  port,  the  war  will  soon  be  ended  by  General  Tay- 
lor. The  English  are  doing  everything  they  can  to  induce  the 
Mexicans  to  make  peace.  I  am  quite  buoyant  since  the  set- 
tlement of  the  Oregon  question,  which  I  see  by  the  papers  has 
been  sent  to  Congress 

"  A  few  days  since  we  captured  a  small  vessel  which  would 
have  suited  our  purpose  very  well  for  watering  ship,  but  the 
Commodore  was  so  interested  in  the  owner's  story  he  let  him 
off  again.  The  fellow  was  so  delighted,  for  we  feasted  him 
well,  that  he  invited  us  to  his  place,  praising  the  quality 
as  well  as  the  quantity  of  his  fruit.  The  Commodore  took 
this  in  earnest,  and  the  day  after  he  got  underway  in  the 
steamer  Frinceton  and  ran  down  to  this  fellow's  place  about 
ten  miles  from  Vera  Cruz.  Here  he  seemed  to  be  so  well 
treated  he  made  a  bargain  for  a  full  supply  of  fruit  and  pro- 
visions for  the  squadron,  which  he  announced  he  would  bring 
down  on  the  following  day  to  water.  Singular  to  relate, 
the  next  day  at  daybreak  the  squadron  got  underway  and 
down  they  came,  sending  all  the  boats  for  water.  Nothing 
occurred  on  the  first  trip,  but  on  the  second  a  couple  of 
marines  were  sent  to  the  summit  of  a  hill  that  overhung  the 
stream  where  the  boats  lay,  and  they  discovered  a  large  force 
concealed  in  ambush  waiting  until  the  boats  reached  a  proper 
distance  to  open  fire  on  them,  which  they  did  at  once,  finding 
they  were  discovered,  but  fortunately  too  far  off  to  do  much 
damage  ;  only  one  man  being  wounded.     So  the  jest  went 

*  Service  Afloat  and  Ashore. 


3^  John  Ancrum  Winslow 

round — *  Fresh  provisions  for  the  Commodore  ! '  However, 
the  Princeiofi  was  sent  in  and  a  few  shells  soon  drove  the 
squad  into  their  holes  for  cover,  and  we  got  another  load 
of  water  in  the  boats." 

"  U.  S.  S.  'Cttmberland,^ 

'''^  August  4,  1846. 

".  .  .  .  Yesterday  was  Sunday,  August  3rd,  and  we 
were  all  busily  engaged  with  our  letters  by  the  Princeton,  de- 
vouring the  news,  when  bang  !  bang  !  from  the  Castle,  and  a 
despatch  came  with  the  news  that  the  Castle  had  declared  for 
Santa  Anna,  so  the  revolution  has  taken  place  and  Vera  Cruz 
numbers  herself  against  Paredes  and  in  favor  of  Santa  Anna. 


Winslow  had  never  fully  recuperated  from  his 
illness  on  the  trip  down  to  the  Gulf,  and  his  weak- 
ened system  quickly  imbibed  the  malarial  germs  of 
the  tropics,  so  that  he  was  soon  again  ill,  this  time 
with  remittent  fever.  To  the  doctors  it  seemed 
impossible  for  him  to  recover  on  the  scanty  nour- 
ishment of  ship's  food,  but  they  underestimated 
his  will  power. 

"  [/.  S.  S.  ^  Cumberland,'' 

' '  A  ugust  10,  1846. 

" .  .  .  I  have  just  been  sent  for  by  the  Commodore 
(Connor),  who  wished  to  send  me  home  or  to  the  hospital  at 
Pensacola,  as  the  doctors  had  told  him  it  would  be  difficult  for 
me  to  recover  from  the  effects  of  my  illness  in  this  climate,  but 
I  said  no.  Then  he  replied  that  if  I  broke  down  again  he 
should  feel  it  his  duty  to  do  so 

"  Since  I  last  wrote  we  have  made  an  attempt  to  capture  the 
town  of  Alvarado  and  the  Mexican  squadron  '  lying  there, 
which  resulted  in  a  failure,  not  that  we  were  defeated,  for  we 
made  no  trial,  but  the  attempt  was  like  all  our  movements, 
from  the  affair  of  the  Brazos,  characterized  by  the  greatest 
want  of  judgment  and  weakness  throughout. 
'  Mosquito  vessels. 


Blockading  Mexican  Ports  37 

"  Nothing  was  easier  than  a  capture  of  the  whole  place,  but 
after  making  great  preparations  we  were  foolishly  frightened 
away.  All  the  officers  and  men  in  the  other  ships  are  indig- 
nant. I  am  no  fighting  man  myself,  but  I  never  felt  more 
contempt.  It  had  been  determined  by  the  Captains  in  con- 
sultation that  an  attack  on  the  town  of  Alvarado  should  be 
made,  and  one  of  those  officers  who  had  influence  was  selected 
to  lead  the  men  from  the  ship.  On  the  morning  of  the  8th 
we  got  under  way  with  the  whole  squadron,  two  English  ships 
of  war  following  to  see  the  fight,  and  down  off  Alvarado  we 
went,  arriving  in  the  afternoon.  We  had  scarcely  taken  our 
position  when  about  two  hundred  Mexican  troops  marched 
over  a  hill  and  came  down  on  the  beach  to  dispute  our  land- 
ing, when  an  officer  set  up  a  cry  in  the  Commodore's  hearing 
that  there  was  upwards  of  a  thousand  men,  and  after  firing 
about  a  dozen  shots  at  an  old  dilapidated  fort  with  five  guns 
in  it,  we  hove  up  anchor  and  retreated  in  the  face  of  the  Eng- 
lishmen. I  have  indeed  felt  mortified  at  the  boasting  of  the 
Mexicans,  knowing  how  things  have  been  conducted  here,  but 
the  war  is  fast  coming  to  a  close.  The  revolution  which  com- 
menced here  has  extended  through  the  central  provinces. 
All  the  troops  have  deserted  Paredes  and  a  new  ministry  is 
formed  which  is  favorably  disposed  to  peace,  and  who  no 
doubt  will  be  glad  to  receive  a  minister. 

"  News  has  arrived  that  Monterey  is  captured  by  General 
Taylor.     ..." 

"6^.  S.  S.  ''Cumberland,^ 
"Vera  Cruz, 

"  August  jg,  1846. 
".  .  .  Two  days  after  I  last  wrote  you,  Santa  Anna 
arrived  in  a  steamer  from  Havana.  He  was  in  bed  suffering 
with  the  joints  from  which  his  leg  had  been  amputated.  He 
was  much  gratified  that  permission  was  given  him  to  pass,  and 
said  his  wife  was  more  so.  (She  looked  like  a  young  girl  of 
fourteen  ;  he  an  old  man.  He  married  her  six  months  after 
the  death  of  his  first  wife,  for  whom  he  put  the  whole  of 
Mexico  in  mourning.)  The  Government  has  given  orders 
for  him  to  pass   and  received  him  well.     No  doubt  peace  will 


38  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

soon  be  declared.     General  Taylor  has  been  ordered  not  to 
advance  beyond  Monterey." 

The  inactivity  of  Commodore  Connor,  in  such 
striking  contrast  to  the  brilliant  achievements  of 
General  Taylor,  could  not  fail  to  raise  an  outcry  in 
the  newspapers  at  home,  so  that  by  the  middle  of 
August  the  Commodore  was  being  violently  at- 
tacked in  all  the  public  prints.  He  could  have 
done  little  that  would  have  affected  the  war,  but 
had  he  undertaken  more  minor  exploits,  which 
would  have  permitted  officers  and  men  to  display 
their  courage  and  heroism,  he  would  have  saved 
the  navy  and  himself  from  unmerited  public  abuse 
and  kept  the  personnel  of  his  squadron  in  a  state 
of  greater  efficiency  and  contentment.  The  Navy 
Department,  better  understanding  his  limitations 
than  the  public,  realized  that  it  would  be  unjust  to 
relieve  him  from  his  command,  but  felt  the  neces- 
sity for  doing  something  to  stop  the  clamor. 

"  f/.  .S".  S.  '  Cumberland,^ 
"Vera  Cruz,  August 2j,  1S46. 
" .  .  .  Our  Government  is  no  doubt  satisfied  now  that 
California  is  ours  and  our  boundary  secured  to  the  Rio  Grande, 
and  desires  peace.  This  has  been  an  unjust  war,  coveting  and 
seizing  territory  which  did  not  belong  to  us  ;  .  .  .  to 
the  honorable  lover  of  his  country  a  source  of  pain  that  it 
has  been  achieved  at  the  loss  of  justice.     ..." 

"6^.  S.  S.  ''Cumberland,^ 

"  Vera  CrOz,    Sept.  20,  1846. 

" .     .     .     The  man  I  wrote  you  about  was  executed.     It 

was  a  severe  sentence  and  not  commensurate  with  the  offence, 

but  example  in  a  disaffected  ship,  the  St.  Mary's,  was  alleged 

as  a  reason.     The  man   was  recommended  to  mercy  and  no 


Blockading  Mexican  Ports  39 

doubt  would  not  have  been  sentenced  to  death  if  it  had  been 
supposed  the  sentence  would  have  been  carried  out.  His 
crime  was  knocking  a  lieutenant  down  on  deck.  The  true 
cause  of  his  execution  was,  in  my  opinion,  that  the  Commo- 
dore feared  he  would  be  attacked  through  the  papers.  The 
crew  of  the  ship  (the  St.  Mary's)  was  in  a  bad  state  and  had 
written  an  abusive  letter  of  the  officers  to  the  Commodore. 
This  was  the  subject  of  a  secret  or  informal  investigation  by 
him,  the  mode  of  which  offended  the  officers  so  that  there 
had  grown  up  a  mutual  ill  feeling  between  them  and  the  Com- 
modore. Hence  the  Commodore  feared  that  it  would  be  said 
he  backed  the  crew.  However,  the  Commodore  would  not 
extend  his  time  beyond  three  days.  It  was  an  affecting  sight, 
and  I  could  not  help  remarking  that  if  all  of  us  were  punished 
as  unmercifully  for  our  deeds  we  should  all  be  swinging  at  the 
yardarms.  I  cannot  describe  to  you  the  poor  young  fellow's 
emotions  upon  his  death  scene  ;  it  would  only  harrow  your 
feelings.     .     .     . 

"  The  Commodore  is  more  taken  up  in  killing  beeves  which 
have  been  brought  here,  catching  a  pail  of  water  and  such 
things  than  injuring  the  enemy.  In  fact  the  midshipmen 
relate  a  good  joke  on  him  that  he  has  been  elected  an  honor- 
ary member  of  the  Peace  Society  and  the  members  of  that 
society  have  in  consequence  adopted  the  naval  uniform  as  a 
mark  of  their  profession. 

"  The  little  steamer  from  New  York  has  arrived  with  Com- 
modore Perry  on  board,  though  he  is  not  ordered  to  the  com- 
mand of  the  squadron  yet.  No  doubt  the  Government  wish 
him  to  have  it,  and  have  taken  this  mode  of  hinting  to  Com- 
modore Connor  that  he  can  be  relieved  at  any  moment  he 
pleases." 

"  (Blockade)  Vera  Cruz. 

"  October  8,  1846. 
"  Today  Commodore  Perry  took  command  of  the  steamers 
of  the   squadron.     This  is  the  first  time  I  ever  sailed  in  a 
squadron  with  two  commodores  commanding." 


CHAPTER   VI. 

WINSLOW'S    FIRST    COMMAND. 

GENERAL  SCOTT  was  now  expected  soon 
to  arrive  at  Vera  Cruz  for  his  advance  upon 
the  City  of  Mexico,  and  it  was  desirable  that  no 
stronghold  should  be  left  to  the  enemy  along  the 
seaboard  from  which  he  could  harass  Scott's  com- 
munications. So  Perry's  advent  in  the  Gulf 
Squadron  was  soon  followed  by  some  active  opera- 
tions against  the  lesser  coast  towns.  In  the  first 
of  these  we  find  Winslow — who  has  claimed  in  his 
letters  to  be  "  no  fighting  man,"  and  in  them  has 
so  repeatedly  shown  his  abhorence  of  the  horrors 
of  war — seeking  the  enemy  with  a  zeal  and  fearless- 
ness almost  impossible  to  control.  His  part  in  this 
attack  upon  Tobasco  is  told  by  the  correspondent 
of  the  New  York  yotcrnal  of  Covimerce,  writing 
from  Anton  Lizardo,  Nov.  4,  1846  : 


"Anton  Lizardo, 
"  Aunj.  ^,  1846. 
".  .  .  It  was  arranged  that  the  vessels  under  Com- 
modore Perry  in  person  should  be  got  under  way  and  stand 
down  the  coast,  as  was  generally  understood,  to  Tobasco. 
.  ,  .  The  fleet,  after  knocking  about  in  some  heavy 
weather   on   the   way   to   the  mouth  of  the  Tobasco  River, 

40 


Winslow's  First  Command  41 

crossed  the  bar  on  the  evening  of  the  28th  of  October.  .  .  . 
the  force  moved  up  the  river  on  the  29th.  .  .  .  Com- 
modore Perry  under  a  flag  of  truce  sent  a  deputation  to 
demand  the  surrender  of  the  town.  A  short  time  was  allowed 
for  their  decision  and,  not  being  satisfactory,  the  guns  of  the 
Vixen  (now  the  temporary  flagship  of  Commodore  Perry,  as 
the  Mississippi  had  been  left  outside  the  river)  opened  upon  the 
town.  A  detachment  of  men  under  different  officers  and  the 
marines  under  Captain  Edson  were  now  landed  and  directed 
to  hold  their  position  until  further  orders.  .  .  .  Lieutenant 
Winslow,  occupying  the  wing  of  the  force  up  the  river,  per- 
ceived a  number  of  Mexicans  firing  from  the  roofs  of  their 
houses  on  Lieutenant  Contee,  whose  prize  vessel  had  drifted 
near  into  the  shore,  gained  permission  to  dislodge  the  Mexi- 
cans from  the  roofs  of  their  houses,  which  was  done  with  a 
few  men  ;  and  once  adrift  from  the  main  force  Lieutenant 
Winslow  manifested  no  disposition  to  return,  but  commenced 
skirmishing  further  up  the  street,  with  some  musketeers  who 
had  opened  upon  him  further  in  advance,  until  following  up 
with  his  men,  who  were  imbibing  all  the  spirit  of  their  leader 
he  finally  reached  one  of  the  corners  of  a  square  from  which  he 
had  been  fired  upon  over  a  vacant  space  as  he  made  his  ad- 
vance. On  reaching  the  entrance  to  the  square,  the  Mexican 
musketeers  were  seen  in  numbers  to  occupy  the  building  on 
the  opposite  diagonal,  presenting  the  appearance  of  barracks. 
Lieutenant  Winslow,  leaving  his  men  to  hold  their  position, 
returned  to  the  main  body  of  the  force  and  begged  permission 
to  cross  the  plaza  and  "  drive  the  rascals,"  as  he  said,  "  from 
the  barracks."  But  he  could  get  no  order.  Capt.  Edson 
could  only  reply  that  the  force  were  ordered  not  to  move, from 
the  point  where  they  were  until  further  orders  were  given. 
Lieut.  Winslow,  disappointed  and  afhrming  he  could  and 
would,  if  permitted,  carry  the  barracks  with  his  handful  of 
men,  returned  to  his  men  and  continued  his  firing  at  the 
Mexicans  and  they  at  him  from  the  opposite  diagonals  of  the 
square.  This  firing  was  heard  on  board  the  vessels,  as  if  in 
the  midst  of  the  town,  and  was  continued  by  Lieut.  Winslow 
until  peremptorily  ordered  to  withdraw  to  the  main  body  of 


42  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

the  force,  which  was  now  held  at  the  point  of  their  landing  by 
the  chains  of  an  order  they  could  not  disobey  ;  and  when  he 
had  reached  the  river,  the  force  were  already  re-embarking 
for  the  ships." 

Captain  Edson  reported  the  grallant  conduct  of 
Lieutenant  Winslow  to  Commodore  Perry,  who 
publicly  complimented  the  young  officer,  made  es- 
pecial mention  of  his  bravery  in  despatches  to  the 
Navy  Department  and  placed  him  in  command  of 
the  Union,  a  small  vessel  that  had  been  captured 
from  the  Mexicans.  Her  name  was  changed  to 
the  Morris  in  memory  of  Lieutenant  Charles 
Morris,  a  son  of  the  famous  Commodore  of  1812, 
who  died  of  a  wound  in  the  throat  received  at 
Tobasco.  Morris  and  Winslow  had  occupied  ad- 
joining staterooms  the  night  before  the  action  and 
the  unfortunate  young  officer  had  confided  to 
Winslow  in  the  early  morning  that  he  had  dreamed 
he  was  shot  in  the  throat. 

"Anton  Lizardo,  Vera  Cruz, 

'^November  /,   1S4.6. 

"  I  have  just  returned  from  an  expedition  to  Tobasco  of 
which  the  papers  will  give  you  all  the  information.  I  have  not 
time  to  write  you  full  particulars,  but  I  came  up  in  a  beautiful 
vessel,  the  Union,  which  I  was  ordered  to  command,  one  which 
we  cut  out,  and  I  only  arrived  in  time  to  get  a  word  to  you, 
but  I  wanted  to  relieve  your  mind  of  all  fears  about  me. 

"  I  was  the  only  one  on  shore  fully  engaged  with  the  enemy, 
but  I  escaped  unhurt.  My  trust  was  fully  in  God's  protec- 
tion. I  hope  these  horrors  of  war  will  soon  be  over  and  I 
can  return  once  more  to  you  and  our  dear  children.  In  the 
Neio  York  Herald  you  will  find  all  the  news  of  the  attack  on 
Tobasco. 

"Poor  Morris  has  gone  to  his  long  home,  shot  in  the  throat, 


Winslow's  First  Command  43 

he  is  just  dead.     He  received  his  wound  in  a  boat  going  to  the 
assistance  of  an  officer  attacked  by  a  large  body  of  men." 

"Vera  Cruz, 

"  November  ^,  1846. 

"  I  wrote  you  I  was  in  the  expedition  to  Tobasco,  the  only 
successful  one  which  the  Navy  has  accomplished.  For  this 
we  are  indebted  to  Commodore  Perry.  One  has  only  to  see 
the  misery  which  war  creates  to  become  sick  of  its  horrors  ; 
poor,  miserable,  unoffending  persons,  marks  for  shots  of  an 
excited  soldiery.  To-day  we  are  called  upon  to  bury  poor 
Morris,  I  shall  be  one  of  his  pall-bearers.  It  was  only  a  few 
days  since  I  left  him  on  board  the  Mississippi  and  he  thought 
he  was  improving,  but  it  was  a  wonder  he  lived  so  long,  for 
his  throat  inside  was  all  shot  away." 

"Tampico,  Mexico, 
"  N'ov.  21 ,  1S46. 
"  We  are  at  length  in  possession  of  this  place  and  what  is 
most  gratifying,  it  has  been  taken  without  bloodshed.  We 
came  in  here  on  the  14th,  the  whole  mosquito  fleet  having 
been  towed  up  by  the  small  steamers.  We  expected  fully 
they  would  give  us  a  hard  battle,  but  a  boat  with  a  flag  of 
truce  with  the  head  man  of  the  town  met  us,  and  after  some 
preliminaries  the  town  surrendered  unconditionally.  We  have 
sent  up  to  Matamoras  for  troops  to  come  down  and  garrison 
it,  after  which  we  shall  no  doubt  sail  again  for  Vera  Cruz. 
Tampico  is  a  place  of  great  importance  to  us  now,  as 
being  necessary  to  supply  the  army  on  its  route  to  Mexico.  It 
possesses  great  wealth  and  more  commerce  and  population 
than  Vera  Cruz.  We  were  very  much  surprised  at  its  sur- 
render, but  Santa  Anna  had  ordered  all  the  troops  up  to  San 
Louis  Potosi  to  oppose  the  march  of  General  Taylor,  The 
guns  had  been  carried  off  or  thrown  into  the  river,  six  thou- 
sand stand  of  arms,  which  we  are  looking  for  now.  The  people 
are  glad  enough  at  our  taking  the  town  and  are  desirous  to 
know  if  we  intend  holding  it  after  the  war.  The  population 
is  about  the  same  as  Monterey  and  it  might  have  been  equally  as 
well  defended,  in  which  event  it  would  have  been  impossible 


44  John  Ancrum  Winslow 

for  us  to  take  it  with  our  small  force.  Three  of  their  naval 
vessels  have  fallen  into  our  hands  which  we  shall  use  against 
them,  besides  one  or  two  merchant  vessels." 

"  Tampico, 
"  December  z,  1846. 

"  We  are  still  here  waiting  arrivals  from  the  army  which 
almost  daily  flock  in  to  garrison  this  place.  The  Mexican  ves- 
sel which  I  command  is  caulking  ;  she  is  one  of  their  navy 
vessels  and  will  be  ready  in  about  three  days.  Our  army  has 
invested  Tampico,  so  there  will  be  no  farther  need  of  our  ser- 
vices, so  we  must  soon  leave  for  Vera  Cruz.  The  crew  of  the 
Raritan  has  been  transferred  to  the  Cumberland,  which  is  to 
sail  immediately  for  Norfolk. 

"  My  constitution  is  much  debilitated  by  this  Tampico 
climate  with  its  chills  and  fevers.  The  bands  are  now  play- 
ing on  shore  the  air  of  *  Blue  Eyed  Mary,'  and  the  plaza  is 
filled  with  Mexicans  to  see  our  soldiers  drill,  glad  enough  to 
see  sights  so  different  from  the  usual  horde  of  Indians," 

"  Tampico, 
' '  December  8,  1S4.6. 

"  Still  here,  more  than  half  of  our  men  ill  with  intermittent 
fever.  I  have  been  quite  ill  with  it  myself  and  my  head  seri- 
ously affected  with  inflammation,  one  of  the  abscesses  in  my 
ear  burst  and  discharged  quite  freely  last  night,  which  has  re- 
lieved me  from  intense  pain. 

"About  1200  of  our  troops  have  arrived.  Yesterday  we 
drew  off  all  the  marines  from  the  town  and,  though  quite  sick, 
I  took  charge  of  them  with  all  the  boats  and  conveyed  them 
to  the  Fleet.  When  I  returned  in  the  afternoon  I  was  so  ill  I 
was  obliged  to  go  to  bed  and  to-day  have  my  ears  poulticed 
again  after  a  night  of  suffering. 

"  The  mosquitoes  prevent  sleep,  the  loss  of  which  causes 
fever  to  strangers.  I  think  no  net  or  covering  avails  ;  the  tor- 
ture from  them  is  inconceivable.  In  the  morning,  in  addition, 
you  find  the  bed  strewed  with  fleas. 

"  There  is  very  little  to  interest  one  in  the  town  or  its  inhabi- 
tants.    The  only  thing  that  can  be  said  in  its  favor  is  that  it 


Winslow's  First  Command  45 

has  fine  walks  and  clean  streets,  and,  after  our  tedious  block- 
ading duty,  I  enjoyed  a  good  walk  on  terra  firtna." 

During  this  period,  Winslow's  former  shipmate 
and  companion  on  the  Cumberlajid,  Raphael 
Semmes,  also  had  an  independent  command,  the 
brig  Sooner s.  It  is  a  strange  coincidence  that  they 
should  now  both  lose  their  vessels  by  shipwreck  and 
be  ao-ain  thrown  tog-ether  on  the  Raritan,  Winslow 
sharinor  his  wardrobe  and  stateroom  with  Semmes. 

o 

"  f/.  S.  S.  '  Raritan; 
"  Anton  Lizardo  Anchorage, 

"  December  ig,  1846. 
"  I  have  just  arrived  from  Tampico  this  evening  and  write 
by  a  vessel  which  leaves  to-morrow  for  New  Orleans.     My 
vessel  has  gone  !     On  the  night  of  the  i6th  thrown  upon  the 
reefs  in  one  of  those  furious  northers,  from  which  after  hard 
work  we  were   relieved    by  the  boats   of   the  John  Adams. 
Scarcely  could  the  boats  live  in  the  horrid  breakers,  but  we 
got  off  the  boats  half  filled  with  water.     It  was  all  the  Com- 
modore's fault  who  sent  me  to  sea  without  instruments,  book,  map 
or  anything  in  the  way  of  a  light  and  destitute  of  every  means  of 
navigation.     Had    not   the  vessels    at   anchor   changed   their 
places,  my  direction  would  have  been  right.     Had  not  my 
lead  line,  the  only  time  I  wanted  it,  broken  and  the  lead  been 
lost,  I  should  have  known  where  we  were.     After  getting  on 
the  reef,  we  hove  off  again  by  anchors,  and  when  we  could 
have  put  sail  on  and  gone  free,  we  could  not  get  loose  from 
the  chains  which  bound  us  to  the  anchor.     Nothing  could  be 
obtained  to  unshackle  the  chain  :  we  tried  half  an  hour  with 
our  large  axes  in  vain. — Prometheus-like,  we  remained  bound 
to  the  reef  —  until  the  violent   tempest   and   heavy  breakers 
came  rushing  upon  us,  broke  us  adrift,  threw  us  upon  the 
rocks,  the  sea  breaking  over  us  and  filling  our  boats,  the  men 
became  clamorous  to  leave.     I  told   them  they  might   go,  I 
would  not.     As  a  last  effort  I  put  sail  on  to  push  her  forward, 
or  over  the  reef,  but  the  violence  of  the  wind  immediately 


46  John  Ancrum  Winslow 

threw  her  over,  so,  finding  every  effort  useless,  we  left  her 
and,  thank  heavens,  got  clear.     .     .     . 

"The  Commodore  could  say  nothing,  knowing  well  that  it 
was  shameful  in  him  to  send  me  to  sea  without  the  least  means 
of  navigation  in  a  sea  so  liable  to  heavy  tempests,  yet  all  would 
have  been  well  had  not  the  lead  line  broken  and  the  Adatns 
having  changed  her  position,  being  farther  in  than  usual,  the 
light  which  she  shew  became  a  false  guide. 

"  The  Commodore  has  determined  upon  giving  up  all  opera- 
tions here  until  the  spring,  the  sea  being  a  continuous  tempest 
has  already  occasioned  so  many  losses,  —  so  all  the  small  ves- 
sels and  steamers  which  we  have  taken  along  the  coast  have 
been  sent  to  different  Mexican  ports.     .     .     . 

"  On  board  our  ship  is  the  Captain  of  the  Somers.  He  is 
one  of  our  lieutenants  and  was  temporarily  in  command  of  the 
Somers  when  she  was  wrecked.  Think  what  an  awful  experi- 
ence, a  ship  struck  over  in  a  squall  and  sinking  under  you  and 
you  obliged  to  trust  to  an  oar  or  something  such  for  life, 
however  it  is  a  joke  now.  All  the  officers  and  men  saved  are 
here  in  the  ship.  Semmes,  the  Captain  that  was,  I  am  very  in- 
timate with,  so  I  frequently  say,  '  Captain  Semmes,  they  are 
going  to  send  you  out  to  learn  to  take  care  of  ships  in  block- 
ade,' to  which  he  replies,  '  Captain  Winslow,  they  are  going  to 
send  you  out  to  learn  the  bearing  of  reefs.'  " 

How  remarkable  is  the  paragraph  expressing 
horror  at  Semmes's  predicament  when  his  ship  sank 
under  him,  in  the  light  of  the  future  when  its  writer 
was  destined,  in  another  bloody  war  and  with 
deadly  purpose  in  the  grimmest  of  naval  duels,  to 
cause  his  former  friend  to  pass  again  through  that 
dreadful  experience  ! 

In  spite  of  Winslow's  persistent  efforts  to  keep 
up,  it  was  evident  now,  not  only  to  the  doctors,  but 
to  his  superior  officers,  that  he  was  unfit  for  further 
duty  in  the  tropics,  and  he  was  sent  home. 


Winslow's  First  Command  47 

"  Norfolk,  Va., 
^'■January  ii,  1847. 
"  Having  been  transferred  from  the  Raritan  to  the  Missis- 
sippi by  orders  of  the  Commodore  (shortly  after  my  return  to 
Vera  Cruz  from  Tampico)  in  the  place  of  Lieutenant  Parker  I 
have  arrived  here.  The  Mississippi  has  been  ordered  home 
for  extensive  repairs  in  her  machinery  and  also  other  altera- 
tions are  contemplated  in  her  internal  structure.  If  we  are 
detached  while  this  is  done,  if  the  war  with  Mexico  is  not 
ended,  I  shall  probably  apply  to  be  re-attached  to  her  as  soon 
as  she  is  ready  to  return  to  the  Gulf.  I  am  writing  in  haste  to 
mail  this  as  soon  as  we  arrive  in  Hampton  Roads,  being  now 
off  Point  Comfort.     .     .     ." 

Winslowwas  detached  from  Xk\.^  Mississippi,  ]2.Vi. 
15,  1847,  ^^d  granted  three  months'  leave,  after 
which  he  was  ordered  to  the  Boston  Navy  Yard  as 
Ordnance  Officer. 


CHAPTER  VII. 


EXECUTIVE    OF    THE    SARATOGA. 


ANTICIPATING  a  full  term  of  shore  duty  at 
the  Boston  Navy  Yard,  Winslow  moved  his 
family  into  quarters  in  the  yard  and  settled  down  to 
a  well-earned  recreation  after  the  illness  and  hard- 
ships he  had  so  heroically  endured.  Nothing  more 
was  done  by  the  Gulf  Squadron  which  could  excite 
his  regret  at  being  compelled  to  leave  it.  General 
Scott  marched  to  Mexico  City,  and,  in  February, 
1848,  the  treaty  of  peace  was  signed. 

Scarcely  a  year  had  been  spent  at  the  Boston 
Yard,  however,  when  unexpected  orders  came  as- 
signing the  young  officer  to  the  U.  S.  Sloop  of 
War  Saratoga,  as  executive. 

He  joined  her  at  New  York,  April  8,  1848,  be- 
ing compelled  to  leave  to  his  wife  the  task  of  pack- 
ing up  household  goods  and  moving  from  the  Navy 
Yard  to  their  Roxbury  home.  The  Saratoga  was 
commanded  by  Commander  W.  C.  Nicholson. 

A  formidable  insurrection  had  broken  out  in  the 
republic  of  Santo  Domingo  which  placed  the  lives 
of  United  States  citizens  in  jeopardy,  and  \}ci^  Sara- 
toga was  to  be  sent  to  the  island  for  their  protec- 

48 


Executive  of  the  Saratoga  49 

tion,  and  thence,  when  conditions  permitted,  to 
make  a  cruise  of  surveillance  along  the  Mexican 
coast  until  the  affairs  of  that  country  regained  a 
state  of  equilibrium. 

Winslow  was  now  thirty-seven  years  of  age.  He 
had  reached  that  period  in  life  when  youthful  ardor 
has  worn  off  and  domestic  habits  are  fully  formed. 
The  monotonous  peace-routine  of  naval  duty  afloat, 
when  an  officer  feels  that  he  is,  at  the  sacrifice 
of  home  comfort  and  happiness,  living  away  his 
life  to  no  useful  purpose  and  leaving  to  a  wife  far 
away  the  whole  care  of  bringing  up  his  children, 
while  the  latter  are  wholly  forgetting  his  existence, 
and  when  he  realizes  that  in  compensation  for 
such  service  he  is  receiving  a  bare  livelihood  that 
permits  nothing  to  be  laid  aside  for  the  family 
maintenance  in  the  event  of  his  untimely  and  not 
unlikely  death  in  his  dangerous  profession,  becomes 
almost  unbearably  irksome.  Hence  we  find  Wins- 
low  making  every  effort  to  leave  the  service  and 
eno-age  in  another  pursuit,  and  we  cannot  help 
feeling  surprised  that  a  man  of  his  indomitable 
energy,  with  a  commercially  valuable  invention  for 
those  days,  should  fail  to  succeed.  Matter-of-fact 
people  will  be  content  to  attribute  it  to  his  total 
lack  of  business  training,  but  to  others  of  deeper 
thought  who  remember  his  later  brilliant  achieve- 
ments, there  is  seen  the  guiding  hand  of  Provi- 
dence restraining  him  from  a  path  in  which  he 
mio-ht  have  been  useful  also,  and  continuing  his 
preparation  until  he  became  a  fit  instrument  for 
the  deeds  that  he  accomplished.     Happily,  he  was 


50  John  Ancrum  Winslow 

able  to  pass  part  of  this  trying  period  performing- 
the  duties  of  an  executive  officer,  or  second  in 
command,  which  are  not  wholly  subordinate. 

"  New  York, 

"  April  ij,  1S48. 
"  I  was  glad  to  hear  the  Captain  reading  prayers  to  the  crew 
at  muster.  I  told  him  I  would  cheerfully  back  him.  This 
will  be  a  pleasant  duty  for  me,  for  I  daily  feel  the  grow- 
ing necessity  of  religious  duty.  Truly,  I  feel  my  position 
without  it  would  be  intolerable.     .     .     . 

"  May  20th.  Entered  the  harbor  of  the  port  of  Aux  Cayes, 
San  Domingo.  ...  to  see  our  sable  republican  brethren. 
How  truly  we  have  exemplified  the  dominion  of  Southern  in- 
fluence in  our  foreign  policy  with  this  island.  She,  entitled  to 
our  best  sympathies,  as  one  of  the  first  which  followed  in  our 
footsteps,  to  declare  her  independence  and  her  free  republican 
principles  that  all  men  were  born  free  and  equal  ;  and  how 
was  she  received  by  us,  not  with  open  arms  as  we  welcomed 
other  nations  which  came  afterwards,  but  so  exactly  in  contra- 
diction to  our  professions  that  well  may  we  be  a  laughing  stock 
for  Europe.  Alone  of  all  civilized  nations  we  have  refused  to 
acknowledge  her  independence.     It  needs  no  commentary. 

"...  We  are  nearly  off  the  town  of  Aux  Cayes.  The 
Captain  has  just  given  me  all  his  despatches  from  the  State  and 
Navy  Department  and  asked  me  to  go  in  and  call  upon  the  au- 
thorities. The  state  of  the  country  being  revolutionary,  we 
are  sent  here  by  the  request  of  the  American  residents  to  our 
Government.     .     .     . 

"  Sunday  evening.  May  21. — After  a  tedious  day  of  rowing 
and  sailing  (the  town  is  eight  miles  from  our  anchorage),  I 
have  just  returned  to  the  ship.  I  have  never  seen  a  more 
miserable  place — all  negroes  of  the  most  dirty  and  squalid  ap- 
pearance. This  part  of  the  island  is  in  complete  revolution, 
suppressed  for  a  moment  by  the  President's  presence  in  town. 
1  made  every  endeavor  to  get  an  interview  with  him,  but  did 
not  succeed.     I  saw,  however,  the  General  of  this  Department 


Executive  of  the  Saratoga  5 1 

who  does  not  look  unlike  one  of  those  negro  parsons  at  the 
South.  I  had  some  conversation  with  him.  Think  of  my 
dining  with  these  strapping  sable  black  darkies  !  ...  An 
hour  before  I  left,  I  sent  word  to  the  President  that  I  had 
called  to  pay  my  respects  and,  not  being  received,  I  addressed 
him  a  letter  expressing  our  disposition  to  extend  all  civilities 
in  the  way  of  salutes,  and  if  he  was  disposed  to  reciprocate,  I 
should  await  his  answer  for  an  hour,  when  arrangements  would 
be  made.  The  hour  having  passed  without  any  reply,  I  left 
and  shall  take  no  further  notice  of  the  authorities  without  ad- 
vances on  their  part.  So  my  Sunday  has  been  passed  review- 
ing about  3000  '  nigger '  troops  with  cocked  hats,  long  coats, 
and  no  shoes  or  covering  on  the  rest  of  their  bodies.  Miserable 
race  !  Far  below  in  intellect  our  Southern  negroes.  The  plan- 
tation negroes  of  the  South  are  infinitely  better  off.  The  free 
government  of  Hayti  is  one  of  the  greatest  burlesques  in  the 
world.  The  most  abject  wretchedness  prevails  here,  filth, 
assassinations  and  murder  under  the  plea  of  liberty,  military 
glory  the  great  desideratum.  Nothing  will  make  amends  for 
the  want  of  education  ;  no  matter  how  great  the  possessions, 
without  it  a  few  years  will  bring  poverty  and  misery  upon  any 
nation." 

"  U.  S.  S.  ' Saratoga ^^  May  23,  1848, 

"  Off  the  Island  of  San  Domingo, 
"  Fort  Aux  Cayes. 
"  We  received  a  note   from  the    President,    in    answer   to 
mine    of   yesterday,  signifying   his   pleasure    to    receive   the 
Captain  and  his  suite  to-day,   and  intimating  his  desire  for 
a  salute.     .     .     ." 

"  Harbor  of  Vera  Cruz, 

"  June  ^7,  1848. 

"  We  are  lying  about  three  miles  from  Vera  Cruz,  with  little 
or  no  communication  with  the  town  from  fear  of  the  fever. 
There  are  about  ten  thousand  troops  outside  the  city  who  are 
waiting  for  transportation  vessels  to  take  them  to  New  Orleans. 
They  are  not  permitted  to  come  into  the  city,  on  account  of 
the  fever.  Before  a  month  expires  pretty  much  all  of  Mexico 
will  be  given  up  to  the  Mexicans,  as  the  troops  are  leaving  for 


52  John  Ancrum  Winslow 

home  daily.  But  now  comes  this  Yucatan  business,  which  is 
likely  to  trouble  the  Navy.  It  seems  Captain  Waldron  with 
two  hundred  marines  is  down  at  Campeachy  to  overcome  the 
Indians,  who  have  been  endeavoring  to  obtain  their  rights  in 
possession  of  the  country,  and  in  order  to  obtain  this  end  have 
not  been  very  chary  of  the  manner  pursued.  The  outrages  of 
the  Indians  have  been  such  that  appeal  has  been  made  to 
Commodore  Perry  for  protection,  and  though  we  cannot  ap- 
proach within  seven  miles  of  any  part  of  the  coast,  and  the 
protection  which  ships  can  give  must  be  of  a  very  limited 
kind,  as  the  President  has  stated  to  Congress,  yet  we  had 
orders  from  the  Commodore  when  he  left  here  to  remain  on 
the  coast  till  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  can  be  heard  from 
and  to  go  to  Laguna  (a  place  in  Yucatan  near  Tobasco)  and 
remain  there  until  we  hear  from  the  Department.     .     .     . 

"  My  opinion  is  Vera  Cruz  in  a  month's  time  will  be  wholly 
evacuated,  so  rapid  is  the  embarkation  of  the  army,  who  are 
fully  disgusted  with  the  war,  which  it  is  gratifying  to  find  is 
closed  and  an  end  put,  not  only  to  the  loss  of  life,  but  to  the 
immense  concatenation  of  moral  vices  which  follows  in  its 
train  ;  truly  I  have  been  shocked  at  the  relation  of  some  of 
them.     It  is  a  true  saying  that  death  is  the  least  evil  of  war." 

' '  At  sea,  July  i,  1848. 
"  On  our  way  to  Laguna.  .  .  .  The  land  along  the  coast 
at  the  foot  of  the  bay  of  Mexico,  where  we  are  now  running, 
is  of  the  most  mountainous  character.  On  one  side  are  the 
high  mountains  of  San  Martin  lifting  their  rugged  heads  far 
above  the  clouds,  on  the  other  is  the  volcano  of  Tuxla,  belch- 
ing forth  its  smoke.  Notwithstanding,  therefore,  that  the  land 
presents  an  outline  at  once  picturesque  and  romantic,  yet  all 
interest  is  lost  in  the  ideal  of  its  features,  because  of  the  dear- 
bought  knowledge  that  sickness  and  disease  are  its  accompani- 
ments. A  most  uncivilized  set  are  its  inhabitants.  Laguna, 
however,  is  not  so  free  from  the  ideal,  for  at  a  nearer  distance 
are  the  mountains  of  Yucatan,  at  the  foot  of  which  are  found 
the  ruins  of  the  cities  so  graphically  described  by  Stephens. 
.     .     .     Never   was    there   a  more    pitiful    looking    set   than 


Executive  of  the  Saratoga  53 

the  retiring  army  :  to  see  them  and  read  the  ebulitions  of 
editors  upon  the  glorious  army,  is  a  travesty  upon  human 
nature.     .     .     ." 

"  U.  S.  S.  'Saratoga,' 

"   Laguna,  yu(y  ij,  184S. 

"  Since  we  have  been  here,  one  of  the  churches  was  burned, 
struck  by  lightning  in  a  terrific  thunder  gust.  Nothing  could 
exceed  the  consternation  of  the  inhabitants,  who  looked  upon 
it  as  a  visitation  of  God  for  their  sins.  Near  the  ruins  of  the 
church  is  a  large  building  which  has  been  erected  by  the 
Americans  for  the  poor  half-breeds,  who  have  fled  hither 
from  the  interior  for  protection — most  pitiable  objects.  The 
Americans  applied  to  the  priests  to  open  their  churches  to 
give  them  shelter,  which  they  refused  to  do,  but  yesterday 
they  applied  to  Captain  Bigelow  to  turn  these  poor  people  out 
of  this  building  that  they  might  put  their  mortar  and  materials 
in  for  rebuilding  their  church.  He  flew  into  a  terrible  rage 
with  them,  and  though  not  superstitious  himself,  said  he  be- 
lieved God  had  visited  them,  for  refusing  shelter  to  these  poor 
wretches,  by  burning  their  church.  He  refused  their  request 
with  a  terrible  reprimand." 

"  Off  Campeachy, 

"  Sept.  5,  1848. 

"  We  yesterday  left  Laguna  on  our  way  to  Pensacola,  never 
I  hope  again  to  return  to  Yucatan,  which  has  now  rejoined 
herself  to  Mexico  and  has  incorporated  herself  as  an  integral 
part  of  that  state,  so  by  treaty  we  are  now  forbidden  to  keep 
squadrons  upon  her  coast." 

"  Pensacola,  Sept.  j6,  1848. 
**  Our  orders  received  here  are  to  continue  sailing  round  the 
coast  of  Mexico,  round  Yucatan,  etc.     .     .     .  " 

"  Vera  Cruz,  Nov.  10,  1848. 

"  There   has   just   come   in    an    English  brig  of  war  from 

Jamaica,  on  board  of  which  is  a  Lieutenant  Hallett  who  was 

on  board  the  Malabar,  R.  N.,  when  the  Missouri  was  burned 

at  Gibraltar,  and  was  one  of  those  ofificers  who  was  despatched 


54  John  Ancrum  Winslow 

to  assist  in  extinguishing  the  flames.  He  was  very  glad  to  see 
me  and  talked  over  that  event  with  the  greatest  interest,  and 
treated  me  as  a  dear  friend.  He  has  sent  me  on  board  a  file 
of  the  Illustrated  News,  all  of  recent  date,  and  has  made  very 
kind  offers.     .     .     ." 

"  Vera  Cruz,  Nov.  ij,  1848. 

"Our  anchorge  is  at  the  island  of  Sacrificios.     .     .     . 

"  I  was  much  struck  the  other  day  on  finding  in  one  of  the 
huts  a  tablet  of  white  marble,  a  memorial  of  Lieutenant  Lowe 
of  the  British  Navy,  who  died  on  board  the  Alarm,  under 
which  were  two  letters  addressed  to  any  officers  asking  their 
aid  in  having  it  suitably  set  up  over  his  grave,  pointing  out  its 
position.  I  intend,  should  the  English  brig-of-war  not  return 
here,  to  have  it  done,  as  one  day  we  may  have  to  ask  similar 
favors." 

' '  Nov.  24,  1848. 

"  Our  brig  with  my  kind  old  friend.  Lieutenant  Hallett, 
R.  N.,  on  board  has  gone  down  the  coast  on  a  practice  ex- 
cursion. .  .  .  After  writing  the  above,  I  went  on  shore 
and  took  all  the  men  and  cleared  out  the  burying-ground, 
which  was  thickly  overgrown  with  cane.  With  axes,  cutlasses 
and  various  other  instruments  we  succeeded  in  almost  clearing 
it  away  from  the  grave  of  Lieutenant  Lowe  of  the  British 
Navy,  fulfilling  the  wishes  expressed  in  the  letters  which  we 
found  under  the  tablet.  We  shall  now  go  to  work  and  build 
a  mausoleum. 

"  I  suppose  you  would  like  me  to  tell  you  something  of  my 
messmates  and  my  life  on  board.  But  I  must  say  there  is 
little  heard  in  a  mess  which  will  bear  repetition — stale  jokes 
and  conversation  which  have  little  charm  for  me.  So  you 
may  think  I  am  not  the  most  popular  person  in  the  world — 
not  that  I  am  ever  in  dispute — but  I  don't  think  my  retired 
ways  and  habits  of  thinking  suit  the  officers,  in  other  words, 
I  am  not  '  hail  fellow  well  met.'  I  am  more  pleased  in  dis- 
covering traits  of  character  in  the  men,  with  a  view  of  exert- 
ing a  healthy  influence  over  those  who  seem  capable  of  being 
improved.     .     .     ," 


Executive  of  the  Saratoga  55 

'•  Pensacola,  Mar.  4,  iS4g. 

"  I   have  written  to  Foote,  hoping,  as  his   complaint  is  a 

lingering  one,  that  my  letter  may  reach  him  before  his  death. 

I  have  a  high  opinion  of  Foote,  I  know  his  charity 

and  principles — his  example  has  not  been  without  its  fruits  to 

me.     ..." 

Captain,  afterwards  Rear  Admiral,  Foote,  re- 
covered from  his  severe  illness,  and  Winslow,  as 
we  shall  see,  commanded  a  vessel  in  his  squadron 
on  the  Mississippi  River  in  the  early  part  of  our 
Civil  War. 

"  New  Orleans,  Mar.  2g,  i84g. 
"  We  sail  in  a  day  or  two  for  Yucatan  and  along  the  coast  to 
Mexico.     Is  not  this  horrible  to  think  of  continuing  this  cruise 
we  so  often  have  gone  over  before  ?  " 

"  Off  Tampico,  April  28,  184^. 
" .  .  .  I  am  buoyed  up  with  the  hope  of  our  return  and 
with  the  prospect  that  I  may  stay  with  you  not  to  be  parted 
again.  I  am  about  sending  off  all  my  papers  with  a  model 
of  my  camel  steam  tug  to  Washington.  .  .  .  It  is  simply 
a  vessel  which  tows  ships  over  bars,  however  shallow  the 
water  may  be,  with  the  same  facility  as  a  steamboat  ;  hence 
New  Orleans,  Mobile,  Savannah,  Charleston,  St.  Petersburg, 
Russia,  and  like  places  can  have  ships  of  the  largest  size 
towed  up  to  their  wharves  with  as  much  ease  as  the  common 
tow-boats  now  take  a  vessel  in  deep  water.  Thus  the  whole 
southern  coast,  which  before  was  shut  up  owing  to  bars,  will 
be  opened,  and  you  may  judge  how  valuable  my  invention 
must  be.  Mr.  Gilbert,  the  celebrated  drydock  man,  with 
whom  I  feared  I  might  have  to  contest  the  patent,  and  whom 
I  happened  to  meet  here,  said  he  would  do  anything  in  my 
favor,  and  handed  me  a  strong  letter  saying  my  machine  was 
admirably  adapted  for  its  purpose  ;  so  I  have  made  some  im- 
provements and  am  just  sending  off  a  miniature  model  to 
Commander  Joseph  Smith." 


56  John  Ancrum  Winslow 

"  Vera  Cruz,  May  31,  i84g. 
"  I  only  hope  that  I  may  succeed  in  my  machine  and  have 
a  life  with  you   at  home,  and  that  our  children  may  be  edu- 
cated in  the  knowledge  of  the  true  purposes  of  life." 

"June  3,  1849.  ^^  ^^^  "o^^  O'"^  o^^  ^^^y  to  Tampico, 
having  commenced  our  cruising,  which  we  will  not  finish  until 
our  arrival  at  Pensacola  about  the  5th  of  July,  as  we  shall  stop 
and  communicate  with  nearly  all  the  ports,  which  will  fully 
occupy  the  intervening  time." 

"  Pensacola,  July  17,  i84g. 

"We  have  orders  to  proceed  to  Laguna  by  way  of  St. 
Thomas  and  home  to  Boston  ;  ordered  off  in  the  utmost  haste. 
I  saw  Commodore  Parker  the  other  day  :  he  spoke  of  you  very 
warmly,  and  the  difficulties  you  had  moving  from  the  Navy 
Yard.  I  thanked  him  for  his  kindness.  Commodore  Parker 
is  very  kind  and  much  beloved  by  the  officers  in  his  ship." 

"  Off  Pensacola  Navy  Yard, 

"  July  20,  iS^g. 
"  We  are  delayed  again  for  several  days.  I  am  anxious  to 
be  off  and  get  home  once  more,  though  I  know  not  how  long 
I  may  be  with  you.  This  is  the  reason  I  hope  so  much  for  a 
change  of  profession  from  this  life  at  sea  of  constant  privation 
and  hardships,  exposed  to  all  climates  and  their  diseases,  with 
a  small  salary  which  hardly  gives  one  a  support." 

"  Off  Pensacola  Navy  Yard, 

' '  A  tigtist  6,  i84g. 
"  Yesterday  was  Sunday,  a  fine  though  very  hot  day,  so  I 
went  to  Pensacola,  eight  miles  distant,  to  take  the  sacrament. 
We  had  a  good  practical  sermon  and  quite  a  number  of  com- 
municants. Lieutenant  Trenchard  of  this  ship  and  Captain 
Randolph  of  the  Albany  among  them.  I  think  the  Navy  sub- 
scriptions principally  support  the  churches  here.  Our  court 
martial  has  lingered  so  long,  we  are  not  going  to  Laguna." 

The  Saratoga  sailed  from  Pensacola  August  15 
and  arrived  at  Newport,  R.  I.,  early  in  September, 
where  Winslow  was  soon  afterward  detached  and 
went  home. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


ON    THE    FRIGATE    ST.  LAWRENCE. 


AFTER  two  years  ashore,  Lieutenant  Winslow 
received  orders  to  the  Frigate  St.  Lawi^ence, 
fitting  out  at  the  New  York  Navy  Yard  for  flagship 
of  the  Pacific  Station.  Leaving  the  comforts  of  do- 
mestic Hfe,  with  which  he  was  just  becoming  famiHar, 
and  a  young  wife  soon  to  become  a  mother,  he  em- 
barked upon  a  cruise  of  unusual  duration — a  criuse 
of  long,  monotonous  journeys  at  sea  and  only  mi- 
nor incidents  throughout.  What  little  of  interest  he 
found  he  has  described  in  his  letters.  They  take 
us  into  Valparaiso  in  its  wild  days  of  youth,  into 
San  Francisco  during  the  mad  search  for  gold, 
and  into  Hawaii  as  it  emerges  from  barbarism. 

On  the  nth  of  December,  1851,  the  Si.  Lawrence 
sailed  from  New  York  for  her  station,  intending  to 
stop  at  Rio  en  route. 

"  Rio  Janeiro,  Jan.  ji,  i8j2. 
"  It  is  now  twelve  years  since  I  have  been  in  this  port.  Its 
beautiful  bay,  encircled  with  towering  mountains  which  rise  in 
every  picturesque  form,  has  lost  none  of  its  grandeur  of  na- 
ture. But  art  has  added  changes  in  the  activity  of  increased 
commercial  life,  which  gives  it  an  air  of  more  importance. 
Rio  Janeiro  is  the  great  half  way  house  for  the  many  ships 

57 


58  John  Ancrum  Winslow 

which  stop  here  on  their  way  from  Europe  and  America  in 
their  voyages  to  the  Pacific." 

"Valparaiso,  March  i8,  1832. 

"  After  an  unusually  short  passage  for  a  sailing  vessel,  we 
arrived  at  this  place,  Valparaiso,  the  Valley  of  Paradise,  sad 
misnomer,  which  we  are  to  realize  in  a  long  detention,  from 
present  prospects.  We  arrived  here  March  14th  from  Rio 
Janeiro  and  found  our  Commodore  (McCauley)  in  the  Raritan 
waiting  here. 

"  Valparaiso  contains  about  40,000  inhabitants  and  is  situ- 
ated at  the  base  of  the  Cordilleras  chain  of  mountains.  The 
character  of  the  country  is  so  ridgy  that  the  shore  of  the  sea 
has  been  stolen  to  form  the  only  street  in  the  town.  This 
street  winds  at  the  base  of  bold  promontories  which  hang  over 
the  sea  ;  the  effect  of  which  is  so  striking  with  their  projecting 
peaks  and  deep  ravines  between,  covered  with  propped-up 
buildings,  that  the  sailors  have  named  the  most  noted  hills  the 
fore,  main  and  mizzen  tops.  Aconcagua,  23,000  feet  in 
height,  is  the  most  imposing  of  the  snow-covered  mountains 
and  is  called  here  the  Belle  of  Quilota.  The  hills,  without 
verdure,  stretch  far  back,  increasing  in  elevation  until  the 
snow-capped  Cordilleras  bound  the  horizon  of  sight.  It  is 
the  first  city  of  importance  after  rounding  the  Cape,  the  great- 
est commercial  emporium  on  the  western  coast  of  South 
America.  The  climate,  beautiful  as  to  temperature,  produces 
fruit  and  vegetables  similar  to  our  own." 

"  £/.  S,  Frigate  '  St.  Lawrence,'' 

"  Okf  Valparaiso, 

"  April  9,  i8j2. 

"  There  are  so  many  English,  Americans  and  Germans  in 

Valparaiso,  differing  in  this   respect  from   Spanish   cities   in 

general,  that  officers  have  the  advantage  of  good  society  if  they 

desire  it.     We  have  been  invited  to  two  or  three  dinner  parties 

and  several  excursions 

"  We  have  several  French  and  English  ships  of  war  about 

us,  with  the  officers  of  which  we  occasionally  exchange  visits. 

"  To-day  is  Good  Friday,  a  great  day  here  among  the  Roman 


On  the  Frigate  S/.  Lawrence  59 

Catholics.  The  French  frigates  also  have  formed  their  yards 
into  crosses  with  Judas  Iscariot  hanging  in  effigy  from  them, 
and  on  shore  all  the  usual  pageantry  for  which  the  former  are 
characterized. 

"  I  am  much  surprised  at  the  state  of  things  on  this  side  of 
America  since  I  was  here  last.  Then,  a  year  would  elapse 
without  news  from  the  United  States,  But  commerce  has  in- 
creased, new  resources  developed,  the  Atlantic  has  grown  old 
and  the  Pacific  has  the  energy  of  youth  —  San  Francisco  and 
Oregon  taking  the  lead  —  such  is  the  magic  of  gold." 

"Caldera, 

"  Seaport  of  Copiapo,  Chili, 

"  May  I,  1852. 

"  After  I  wrote  you,  at  Valparaiso,  I  met  Mr.  Wheelwright, 
brother  of  Mrs.  Codman,  of  Dorchester.  He  has  been  in 
South  America,  off  and  on,  for  twenty-five  years,  and  keeps 
open  house  at  Valparaiso.  The  English  Admiral  and  two 
Captains,  one  a  nephew  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  are  here 
and  live  constantly  with  him.  He  took  quite  a  fancy  to  me 
and  my  camel  steam  tug  invention.  He  is  a  leading  spirit 
here,  the  builder  of  a  railroad  from  this  point  to  Copiapo,  and 
also  the  originator  and  principal  owner  of  the  waterworks 
for  supplying  Valparaiso.  He  offered  me  a  room  at  his  house 
which  I  never  accepted.  He  gave  us  permission  to  pass  and 
repass  freely  on  the  railroad,  here  to  Copiapo,  the  great  silver 
mining  district  of  South  America,  of  which  we  have  availed 
ourselves.  What  a  country  it  is,  where  if  they  only  had  fuel, 
mountains  of  copper  and  silver  could  be  smelted,  but  it  is  just 
the  limit  of  the  great  desert  of  Atacama,  like  Africa  without 
its  heat,  for  it  is  the  finest  climate  in  the  world,  temperature 
70°  all  the  year  round. 

"  We  have  visited  many  mills  for  working  the  ore.  But,  oh, 
the  Spaniards,  such  a  set  of  gamblers  !  I  went  to  the  works 
of  a  man  who  had  lost  in  gambling  $3,000,000  alone.  Think 
of  that  sum  !  An  Englishman,  President  of  the  Railroad,  was 
almost  as  bad.  The  American  engineers  told  me  he  had  bet 
before  them  on  the  turn  of  a  single  card  4000  doubloons,  or 
$70,000,  and  lost  in  one  night  a  large  fortune.     To-night  we 


6o  John  Ancrum  Winslow 

were  invited  to  go  and  see  them  play,  but  I  declined.     Such 
is  the  life  of  the  rich  men  of  South  America." 

"Callao,  3Iay  i8,  1852. 
"  After  leaving  Copiapo,  where  we  received  our  first  letters 
from  home,  since  leaving  New  York,  we  touched  for  a  day  or 
two  at  Arica  and  the  Chincha  Islands,  off  Pisco,  the  last  great 
island  of  guano.  I  expected  to  remain  at  Callao  two  months 
and  write  you  fully,  but  we  have  received  orders  to  sail  in 
thirty  hours  for  the  Sandwich  Islands,  and  from  thence  to  San 
Francisco  after  our  provisions  are  consumed." 

"  Honolulu,  June  28,  18^2. 

"  We  arrived  here  after  thirty-two  days'  passage,  having  run 
a  greater  distance  than  from  here  to  Boston  direct,  and  equal 
to  one-fourth  the  circumference  of  the  world 

"  This  place  evinces  more  civilization,  perhaps,  than  any  of 
the  islands  in  the  Pacific,  being  now  an  American  town,  though 
originally  savage  like  the  other  islands.  It  is  now  governed 
by  a  constitution  very  liberal  in  form,  with  missionaries  for 
ministers,  schools  as  in  Massachusetts,  other  similar  insti- 
tutions, a  large  commerce,  etc.,  the  whole  being  the  work  of 
Massachusetts  missionaries,  one  of  the  most  remarkable  in- 
stances of  their  successful  benevolent  efforts. 

"  I  have  been  invited  to  visit  Parliament,  now  sitting.  Yes- 
terday several  officers  were  received  in  a  most  distinguished 
manner.  The  Crown  Prince,  as  Speaker,  conducted  affairs 
very  handsomely.  What  would  Captain  Cook,  the  discoverer 
of  these  islands,  say  now  could  he  rise  from  the  dead  and,  in 
contrast  to  the  hordes  of  savages  he  found  here,  see  the  people 
now  who  are  far  in  advance  of  the  Spanish  of  South  America." 

"  San  Francisco,  Aug.  20,  18^2. 
"  We  are  on  duty  every  moment.  Our  men  are  infected 
with  the  gold  fever  to  such  a  degree  that  we  have  to  keep  all 
the  marine  muskets  loaded  for  service,  sentries  posted  every- 
where, and  a  brace  of  pistols  for  the  officer  of  the  deck,  conse- 
quently the  Captain  is  using  every  effort  to  get  away.  Five 
of  our  men  have  deserted  to-day." 


On  the  Frigate  Sf.  Lawrence  6i 

"  Honolulu,  Sept.  12,  1832. 

"After  a  fortnight's  passage  we  have  returned  here,  after 
looking  for  an  unknown  island  which  we  were  ordered  to 
survey  on  our  route.  The  state  of  the  crew  from  the  gold 
mania  was  such  as  compelled  our  leaving  San  Francisco,  con- 
sequently we  missed  the  mails  from  the  United  States,  which 
we  have  since  learned  arrived  the  day  after  our  departure. 
Those  on  shore,  periodically  in  receipt  of  mails,  cannot  realize 
the  privation  to  us. 

"  Few  people  know  the  trials  of  the  Navy  Life,  this  continued 
surveillance  of  the  worst  set  of  scoundrels  under  the  sun. 
Formerly  orders  given  were  promptly  obeyed  ;  now  you  have 
to  go  after  a  man  and  enforce  your  orders.  We  have  now  four 
men  confined  for  attempt  at  murder.  Two  of  them  having 
quarrelled  a  few  days  previous,  one  held  a  grudge,  watched 
his  chance  when  the  other  was  sitting  down,  approached  and 
struck  him  in  the  head  two  heavy  blows  with  an  axe,  strange  to 
say  without  killing  him.  Of  course  the  assailant  was  arrested. 
I  could  only  leave  the  ship  once  in  San  Francisco  ;  I  had 
to  be  constantly  on  duty." 

"  'St.  Laivrence,^  Honolulu, 

"  Nov.  20,  18^2. 

"  I  enclose  a  topographical  view  with  explanation  and  de- 
scription of  the  great  volcano  in  the  Island  of  Hawaii,  which 
I  took  the  opportunity  while  at  Hilo  of  visiting.  We  had 
gone  down  to  Hilo  to  escape  the  storms  of  the  season,  when 
we  last  sailed  from  this  port  and  had  expected  to  have  re- 
mained there  quietly  until  relieved  by  the  Postsmouih,  but 
four  days  ago  a  schooner  came  in,  despatched  to  bring  us 
here  again  with  the  news  that  the  American  whalers  had  ar- 
rived and  captured  this  town,  burning  several  houses.  We 
sailed  immediately,  and  after  arriving  here  found  that  it  was 
nothing  more  than  a  riot.  An  American  sailor  had  been 
killed  by  the  police,  while  resisting  arrest,  which  caused  the 
riot.  The  harbor  is  filled  with  American  whalers,  and  no 
doubt  3000  sailors  could  be  mustered  from  them. 

"We  have,  however,  received  our  orders  to  Valparaiso. 
Our   Captain  is  to  relieve   Commodore  McCauley  and  to  be 


62  John  Ancrum  Winslow 

Commodore  in  his  place.  The  Sf.  Lawrence  will  thus  be  the 
flagship.  Ten  thousand  miles  must  we  sail  before  we  reach 
our  destination — Valparaiso." 

In  February,  1853,  while  at  Valparaiso,  Winslow 
heard  of  the  death  of  his  youngest  child,  which  he 
had  never  seen — the  little  boy  born  shortly  after 
his  departure  from  New  York. 

"  U.  S.  FrigSite  'St.  Lawrence,'' 

"  Valparaiso,  April  j,  1853. 

"  A  few  nights  since  I,  in  company  with  two  other  officers, 
was  visiting  at  the  house  of  Mr.  Hobson  (of  the  firm  of  Alsop 
&  Co.)  when  several  ladies  came  in.  Among  them  I  was  in- 
troduced to  a  Mrs.  Ancrum.  Somewhat  surprised,  I  asked  her 
if  her  name  was  Scotch.  She  said  yes,  and  I  replied  my  name 
was  also  Ancrum  and  also  Scotch.  I  found  that  there  was  a 
connection  between  my  mother's  family  and  her  husband's. 
She  told  me  her  husband,  who  would  be  in  shortly,  would  be 
glad  to  continue  the  subject.  He  came  too  late  for  me  to 
refer  to  it  that  evening,  but  two  days  after  I  met  Dr.  Ancrum 
at  a  dinner  party  given  by  the  British  Admiral,  when  I  learned 
that  his  grandfather  and  mine  were  brothers,  and  that  while  in 
the  United  States  he  had  endeavored  to  find  out  his  relations, 
but  was  unsuccessful.  Hehas  two  uncles  in  the  British  Army. 
His  grandfather  and  mine  were  opposed  to  each  other  in  the 
Revolution,  which  separated  them. 

"  He  called  afterwards  and  asked  me  to  dine  with  him  at 
6  o'clock  Friday.  He  has  charge  of  the  English  Hospital 
here,  and  is  said  to  be  the  first  surgeon  in  South  America,  a 
pupil  of  Liston.  We  shall  sail  next  week  for  the  intermediate 
ports  between  here  and  Callao,  possibly  down  to  Panama.  We 
have  received  a  great  deal  of  attention  in  the  way  of  invita- 
tions recently  and  considerable  interchange  of  civilities  especi- 
ally with  English  officers." 

The  SL  Lawrence  proceeded  to  Callao  and  Payta, 
thence    again    to    the    Sandwich    Islands,  arriving 


On  the  Frigate  Sf.  Lawrence  63 

there  in  the  midst  of  the  frightful  smallpox  epi- 
demic which  so  nearly  destroyed  their  population. 
She  therefore  avoided  the  port  of  Honolulu  and 
sought  the  Lahaina  anchorage  of  Maui,  where  she 
found  the  Portsmouth  in  refuge  from  the  infected 
ports  and  badly  in  need  of  provisions.  Remaining 
in  that  pleasant  anchorage  a  fortnight,  she  then 
sailed  for  San  Francisco,  arriving  Sept.  i,  1853. 
There  Winslow  met  several  army  and  navy  officers 
who  had  resigned  and  made  fortunes,  and  there 
many  of  the  St.  Lawrences  crew  resigned,  crazed 
by  the  gold  fever  and  the  gambling  and  dissipation 
of  the  place. 

When  about  to  sail  once  more  for  Valparaiso 
a  letter  was  received  from  the  U.  S.  Minister  at 
Mexico  requesting  that  the  St.  Lawrence  proceed 
to  Acapulco  to  investigate  the  capture  of  an  Ameri- 
can vessel. 

"  Acapulco,  Mexico, 

"  Oct.  21,  i8s3. 
" .  .  .  We  came  here  in  the  nick  of  time,  for  Americans 
have  been  subjected  to  all  sorts  of  abuses  by  the  government 
of  Santa  Anna,  who  is  seeking  another  war  with  the  United 
States  or  the  elevation  of  himself  to  the  throne  after  the  man- 
ner of  Louis  Napoleon.  We  have  sent  orders  to  the  vessels 
captured  to  be  ready  to  go  to  sea  immediately." 

The  seized  vessels  were  released  and  conducted 
to  sea  by  the  St.  Lawrence,  which  then  proceeded 
to  Panama,  where  orders  were  received  to  hasten  to 
Callao  on  account  of  the  seizure  of  an  American 
vessel  while  loading  guano  at  the  Chincha  Islands. 

"  November  i8,  iSjj. 

"  Our  minister,  Mr.  Clay,  expects  instructions  by  the  next 


64  John  Ancrum  Winslow 

steamer  from  Washington.  The  case  is  one  of  great  injustice 
and  abuse,  and  required  a  prompt  and  efficient  course.  There 
being  no  man-of-war  present  prevented  this,  but  our  arrival 
alters  the  face  of  things  and  we  shall  no  doubt  obtain  a  settle- 
ment by  the  Peruvian  Government  paying  all  demands,  in 
amount  $70,000,  for  the  maltreatment  of  the  Captain  and  crew 
of  the  vessel.  Since  our  arrival  here  a  revolution  has  com- 
menced down  at  Pisco,  seventy  miles  distant,  and  it  has  pro- 
gressed so  far  that  the  Government  is  placing  all  their  money 
in  the  Peruvian  ships  of  war.  I  should  not  be  surprised  to 
hear  of  the  revolutionists  marching  on  Lima." 

'^  (/.  S.  S.  '  SL  Lawrence,' 

"  Callao,  j^an.  12,  J8J4. 

"  The  Government  party  are  out  with  a  bulletin  to-day  that 
they  have  beaten  the  revolutionists  in  fight — doubtful. 

"There  is  constant  difficulty  between  our  men  and  the 
Peruvians  ;  continued  claims  are  being  made  upon  them  for 
insults.  The  Peruvians  dislike  us  so  much.  The  other  day  I 
was  on  shore  and  seeing  a  crowd  running  down  to  the  water, 
I  walked  down  myself,  when,  to  my  surprise,  I  saw  all  the  dock 
loafers  (a  mixed  breed  of  Indians,  Spaniards,  and  Negroes) 
stoning  three  of  our  men  who  were  on  the  wharf.  The  stones 
flew  like  snow  balls  and  quite  as  large.  I  went  up  to  the 
Governor,  and  told  him  if  his  police  were  so  defective  that 
they  could  not  prevent  a  repetition  of  this,  that  we  would  pre- 
vent it  ourselves.  The  Commodore  took  it  up.  Another  case 
of  a  different  kind  is  on  trial  now.     .     .     . 

"  Just  half  a  mile  from  us  is  a  long  narrow  strip  of  land 
running  into  the  sea  ;  on  the  surface  remain  the  cupolas  of  old 
churches.  These  are  the  only  relics  of  old  Callao,  which  was 
destroyed  by  an  earthquake  in  1746. 

"Jan.  26,  1854.  .  .  .  There  does  not  seem  to  be  much 
chance  of  a  speedy  settlement  of  the  Chincha  difficulties  as 
the  Peruvians  prefer  negotiating  at  Washington,  and  once  our 
Government  takes  it  in  hand  it  may  be  like  claims  in  Con- 
gress, a  legacy  for  our  children." 

"  Off  Callao,  Feb.  12,  1854. 
"  Mr.  Clay  (U.  S.  Minister)  has  detained  us  here  to  await 


On  the  Frigate  S^.  Lawrence  65 

the  arrival  of  the  St.  Mary's  to  relieve  us.  The  revolution 
among  the  Peruvians  still  lingers.  .  .  .  They  have  the 
pest  at  Callao  (a  mild  kind  of  yellow  fever)  in  which  there  is 
little  fatality.  We  have  had  several  cases  on  board.  .  .  . 
The  St.  Marys  arrived  this  afternoon  and  we  shall  sail  to- 
morrow. I  am  glad  of  it,  we  have  been  here  two  months  and 
I  am  heartily  tired  of  this  place." 

"  Valparaiso, 
"6'^.   S.   S.   '  St.  Lawrence^ 

"  March  j6,  1834. 
"  We  arrived  here  after  a  passage  of  twenty-two  days.  It 
was  very  fortunate  we  got  away  from  Lima  when  we  did,  for 
the  yellow  fever  has  become  quite  virulent  there.  Some  of  our 
acquaintances  have  died  of  it,  amongst  others  a  very  fine  fellow, 
a  Lieutenant  of  the  English  Navy." 

"Valparaiso,  April i,  18^4. 

"  We  have  had  around  us  until  a  few  days  past,  three  frig- 
ates, one  English,  one  French  and  one  Russian.  As  we  were 
intimate  with  the  officers,  it  was  amusing  to  hear  their  differ- 
ent views  and  feelings  with  regard  to  matters  now  taking  place 
in  Europe  :  '  the  account  that  war  was  so  imminent  that  the 
English  and  French  ships  sailed  in  order  to  cut  off  the  mail 
and  in  case  of  war  to  pounce  upon  the  Russian.  But  no 
declaration  of  war  came,  however ;  the  Russian,  although  await- 
ing the  arrival  of  his  consort,  no  doubt  thought  things  too 
squally  and  went  off  to  Asiatic 'Russia. 

"  I  must  confess  the  aspect  is  alarming  in  Europe.  No 
doubt  war  is  in  full  vigor  before  this  and  God  alone  can  fore- 
see its  termination.  The  character,  too,  of  this  war  is  one 
which  history  records  as  never  ceasing  in  its  injurious  results, 
a  war  of  religion.  A  fearful  crisis  seems  to  be  upon  the  world. 
Look  at  China,  an  empire  standing  2200  years  without  change, 
now  deluged  with  blood  and  the  revolutionists  carrying  a  cross 
upon  their  banners,'  with  protestant  principles, — what  but  God's 
power  could  effect  this!  Our  own  country  is  not  secure  either  ; 
corruption  in  morals,  in  the  Government,  the  people  every- 

'  Culminating  in  the  Crimean  War. 

'  Tai-ping  Rebellion  under  tlie  Christian  Chinaman,  Hung  Seu-tseuen. 
S 


66  John  Ancrum  Winslow 

where  forgetting  the  great  Author  of  their  happiness,  forget- 
ting blessings  far  greater  than  those  promised  the  chosen 
people  of  God,  everywhere  ingratitude  is  manifest  to  Him. 
In  Congress  men  rise  up  in  hopes  of  getting  the  presidency 
and  renew  the  negro  or  slavery  war.  I  know  not  where  the 
question  will  end,  but  it  seems  to  me  one  of  uncommon  mag- 
nitude.    Everything  looks  gloomy." 

"  CoQuiMBO,  April  i6,  18^4. 

"  We  are  here  for  the  purpose  of  exercising,  preparing  for 
the  inspection  which  precedes  the  laying  up  of  vessels  after 
arrival  in  the  United  States.  This  week  being  Holy  Week 
and  all  business  on  shore  suspended,  we  have  paid  respect  to 
the  custom  of  the  country  by  not  firing,  but  as  soon  as  Mr. 
Judas  Iscariot  is  hung,  which  will  be  to-morrow,  we  shall 
commence  a  grand  function.     .     . 

"Our  minister  at  Peru  has  been  directed  to  demand  of  the 
Peruvian  Government  full  indemnities  for  the  injuries  to  our 
merchants  at  the  Chincha  Islands,  and,  in  the  event  of  their 
not  acquiescing,  the  squadron  is  to  act." 

"Callao,  May  2b,  18^4. 

"  The  Chincha  affair  is  still  unsettled  :  the  negotiation  is 
changed  to  Washington — with  small  prospect  of  termination. 

"  The  other  day  the  combined  English  and  French  squad- 
rons got  under  way.  It  was  a  beautiful  sight  to  see  them 
forming  lines.  They  were  in  pursuit  of  two  Russian  frigates 
which  had  sailed  for  Honolulu.  We  fired  salutes  in  honor  of 
Her  Britannic  Majesty  on  Victoria's  birthday.  May  25th." 

"  Callao,  yune  11,  18^4. 

"Your  letter  with  accounts  of  home  made  me  homesick. 
It  requires  great  self  denial  to  be  away  from  you  all.  I 
have  missed  my  profession,  I  am  not  fit  to  remain  away. 
There  are  many  who  like  this  life,  but  I  cannot  believe  that 
anyone  who  is  of  a  domestic  turn  of  mind  can  receive  pleasure 
away  from  those  he  loves.     .     .     ." 

The  St.  Lazurence  remained  at  Callao  through 
the  summer  of  1854,  then  went  to  Valparaiso. 


On  the  Frigate  Sf.  Lawrence  67 

"  Valparaiso,  Feb.  7,  iS^^. 
"  To  our  great  surprise,  February  2d  the  Independence  hove 
in  sight.  Great  was  our  rejoicing.  It  was  impossible  to  keep 
the  men  quiet,  so  great  was  the  excitement  after  such  long  de- 
lay. We  have  now  transferred  the  squadron.  We  sail  to-mor- 
row which  will  be  a  day  of  cheering  to  us  all.  I  cannot  write 
much  but  you  can  appreciate  my  feelings  after  this  long 
absence  to  which  I  have  been  compelled  to  submit." 

"  Off  Cape  Henry  Light  House, 

"  April  18,  i8ss- 
"  After  a  passage  of  just  seventy  days,  we  have  arrived  and 
have  a  pilot  on  board.     I  shall  despatch  these  few  lines  at 
once. 

"A  few  days  must  elapse  before  money  can  arrive,  the  men 
be  paid  off  and  other  usual  matters  for  placing  a  ship  out 
of  commission.     Then  you  may  look  for  me  at  home.    .     .     ." 

The  whole  of  this  lone,  tedious  cruise,  from 
December,  1851,  to  April,  1855,  rendered  naval  life 
excessively  distasteful  to  Winslow.  Looking  for- 
ward to  his  return  home,  he  wrote  : 

"  No  life  for  hardship  and  toil,  requiring  a  greater  exercise 
of  Christian  virtue,  exists  than  that  of  a  sailor.  Aside  from  the 
exposure  to  weather  of  every  rigor,  it  is  one  in  which  you  are 
cut  off  from  friends  and  home,  and  no  man  who  has  not  expe- 
rienced the  harassing  effects  of  what  is  called  discipline  can 
for  a  moment  conceive  of  its  wearisome  influence." 

He  was  detached  from  the  St.  Lawrence  at  Nor- 
folk, Va.,  April  21,  1855,  and  granted  three  months' 
leave,  but  on  the  2d  of  May  was  placed  in  charge 
of  the  Recruiting  Rendezvous,  Boston.  On  the 
14th  of  the  following  September  he  was  commis- 
sioned a  Commander.  For  five  years  he  remained 
ashore  in  the  city  of  his  adoption,  enjoying  the 
quiet  happiness  of  domestic  life,  yet  feeling,  with 


68  John  Ancrum  Winslow 

every  other  thoughtful  man  of  his  time,  an  ever  in- 
creasing anxiety  over  the  gathering  clouds  of  civil 
war.  On  the  20th  of  December,  i860,  he  was  ap- 
pointed Inspector  of  the  2d  Light  House  District, 
with  his  headquarters  in  Boston. 


CHAPTER  IX. 


DUTY    WITH    THE    WESTERN    FLOTILLA. 


WHEN  the  Government  at  Washington  had 
fully  realized  the  scope  of  the  Southern 
Rebellion,  the  strategic  importance  of  controlling 
the  waters  of  the  Mississippi  became  evident. 
Passing  through  the  midst  of  the  States  in  re- 
bellion, with  tributary  waters  reaching  into  them 
on  either  side,  the  system  formed,  in  those  days 
of  imperfect  communications,  the  chief  means 
of  intercourse  between  the  western  and  eastern 
portions  of  the  rebellious  territory.  Furthermore, 
so  long  as  the  river  was  held  by  the  Confederates, 
the  loyal  States  lying  upon  it  and  its  tributaries 
farther  north  were  in  a  state  of  commercial  block- 
ade. Operations  to  open  and  control  the  river 
were  therefore  begfun  both  from  the  Gulf  of  Mex- 
ico  and  from  the  rivers  north  of  the  Confederacy. 
For  the  latter  operations,  river  gunboats  of  special 
design  had  to  be  built  and  equipped  in  cities  safely 
located  on  tributary  waters  in  loyal  territory,  and 
assembled  at  some  good  strategic  base  near  the 
enemy's  frontier.  Going  northward  from  the  Con- 
federate  line,   it   is    seen   that   St.    Louis   on    the 

69 


70  John  Ancrum  Winslow 

Mississippi  and  Cincinnati  on  the  Ohio  are  the  first 
cities  with  adequate  resources.  Returning  then 
toward  the  enemy's  frontier,  looking  for  a  strategic 
situation  for  a  base  of  operations,  the  eye  is  almost 
immediately  struck  with  the  position  of  Cairo. 
Here  the  loyal  State  of  Illinois  projects  down  like 
a  wedge  between  the  doubtful  border  States  of 
Kentucky  and  Missouri,  and  at  the  point  of  the 
wedge  stands  Cairo,  its  tlanks  protected  by  the 
two  rivers  of  supply,  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi, 
which  join  in  front  of  it. 

In  May,  1861,  the  nucleus  of  the  Western  Flo- 
tilla was  formed  by  the  purchase  of  three  river 
steamers  at  Cincinnati  by  Commander  John 
Rodgers,  and  their  conversion  into  gunboats.  The 
flotilla  was  to  be  commanded  by  him  and  manned 
by  the  navy,  but  was  to  be  under  the  control  of  the 
General  commanding  the  Department,  who  was  at 
that  time  Major-General  Fremont.  In  August  a 
contract  was  made  with  Mr.  James  B.  Eads  of  St. 
Louis  to  build  seven  gunboats  and  deliver  them  at 
Cairo  in  October.  Two  other  purchased  vessels, 
the  Bejiton  and  Essex,  were  added  to  the  flotilla, 
and  the  construction  of  still  more  was  begun. 

At  the  beginning  of  September,  Commander 
Rodgers  was  relieved  by  Captain  A.  H.  Foote,  and 
the  latter  immediately  applied  for  Commander 
Winslow  as  his  chief  assistant  in  fitting  out  and  or- 
ganizing the  flotilla.  The  latter  had  applied  for 
duty  afloat  soon  after  the  outbreak  of  the  Rebellion, 
so,  on  September  10,  1861,  he  received  orders  to 
report  to  Captain  Foote  at  St.  Louis  for  special  duty. 


:Blue  ^2oi/a7  States 
T^ed-   Sicdes  in  TiehellLOTi 
While.  =jJoul)i]-id  Siafps. 


THEATRE  OF  OPERATIONS  OF  WESTERN   FLOTILLA 


Duty  with  the  Western  Flotilla.        71 

"  Buffalo,  Sept.  /j.  1861, 

"  Sunday  afternoon. 

"  I  left  home  almost  unmanned.  The  thoughts  of  what 
might  take  place,  the  troublous  times,  .  .  .  the  large 
family  dependent  on  me  alone,  was  enough  to  take  the  man- 
hood out  of  anyone  of  feeling.  However,  the  feeling  is 
soothed  now  to  some  extent ;  God  never  intends  wholly  to 
overwhelm  one  in  the  severe  chastenings  necessary  for  our 
subjection  and  I  am  thankful  that  He  has  raised  me  from  the 
depression  and  given  me  hope  that  in  the  end  I  shall  have 
peace." 

"St.  Louis,  Sept.  22,  1861. 

"All  the  Commanders  have  formed  a  military  mess  on  board 
a  large  Mississippi  steamboat  with  splendid  accommodations. 
She  has  been  hired  for  a  receiving  vessel. 

"  We  are  sent  here  to  man  the  Flotilla  for  the  Mississippi. 
Seven  gunboats  are  building  which  are  to  be  cased  with  iron 
of  2^  inches  thickness.  I  send  herewith  an  account  from  the 
newspapers  of  the  experiments  tried  to  ascertain  whether  they 
would  resist  shot  ;  the  experiments  were  satisfactory,  proving 
balls  had  no  effect  on  them. 

"  I  see  no  chance  of  their  being  ready  before  the  first  week 
in  November.  The  gunboats  carry  each  fifteen  guns,  nine 
inch,  and  rifle  guns  twenty-four  pounders.  The  wheel  of  the 
steamboat  is  in  the  centre  of  the  vessel,  protected  from  shot 
by  the  inclined  sides  which  extend  all  around." 

"St.  Louis,  Sept.  2g,  1861. 

"  Foote  has  gone  to  Cairo  to  see  about  affairs  there.  He  is 
under  Fremont  and  receives  orders  from  him.  Fremont  has 
gone  up  the  river  to  try  and  whip  Price  out  of  Lexington.  He 
has  taken  a  sufficient  number  of  men  to  do  it  effectually;  but  I 
do  not  know  how  it  will  turn  out,  for  it  almost  seems  as  if 
the  other  party  were  having  everything  their  own  way. 

"Foote  is  very  much  engaged,  .  .  .  everything  is  at 
sixes  and  sevens  and  nothing  is  prepared,  and  all  our  wants 
and  materials  are  to  be  supplied  from  the  East." 


72  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

"St.  Louis,  Oct.  j,  i86i. 
"  Since  I  last  wrote  you  several  changes  have  been  made, 
and  there  is  no  knowing  what  a  day  may  bring  forth.  Stead- 
man  has  been  relieved  and  ordered  back  again  to  New  York 
to  command  the  Bienville.  Hazard  has  been  ordered  to  Cin- 
cinnati to  recruit  men  for  the  expedition  and  I  have  received 
orders  to  proceed  to  Cairo,  hire  a  steamboat  and  take  all  the 
stores  on  board  for  the  expedition,  principally  ordnance. 
There  is  no  knowing  how  long  Fremont  will  be  in  the  North 
and  when  the  expedition  will  get  off." 

"  St.  Louis,  Oct.  8,  1861. 

"  Foote  is  down  at  Cairo — went  yesterday.  Porter  has  gone 
down  in  a  steamer  which  looks  like  a  tortoise.  He  will  be 
pitching-in  the  first  opportunity  he  gets.  I  see  great  reports 
in  your  Boston  papers  of  the  war  here.  We  hear  nothing  of 
it.  In  fact,  it  seems  to  me  a  sort  of  guerilla  warfare,  of  the 
secessionists  marching  upon  some  weak  place,  and  then  aban- 
doning it  again." 

"  Cincinnati,  Oct.  14,  1861. 

"  I  received  to-day  a  message  from  the  Commanding  Gen- 
eral of  this  division  that  he  wanted  to  see  me.  The  General 
is  Mitchell,  the  great  astronomer,  a  very  pleasant  man  and  I 
told  him  I  would  rather  he  would  talk  of  the  stars  than  the 
war.  He  wanted  my  opinion  in  writing  of  the  advantages  of 
gunboats  on  the  Ohio. 

"  I  would  not  be  so  anxious.  You  may  depend  upon  it 
there  is  no  danger  or  anything  like  the  appearance  of  it  when 
viewed  in  prospective.     Hope  on  and  trust  in  God." 

"Cincinnati,  Oct.  16,  1861. 
"  I  wrote  a  strong  letter  for  General  Mitchell,  as  he  desired, 
for  which  he  thanked  me  very  much  and  said  he  would  urge 
upon  the  Government  their  adoption  and  should  like  my 
superintendence  of  them  if  he  could  get  it  from  the  War  De- 
partment. I  do  not  believe  they  will  succeed  in  getting  the 
gunboats,  as  too  much  money  has  been  spent  already." 

Winslow  now   spent    ten   days  in  Cleveland  re- 
cruiting men  for  the  flotilla.      His  wife  was  with 


Duty  with  the  Western  Flotilla.        73 

him  while  there.  It  was  a  pleasant  break  in  the 
fever  of  war  work.  He  then  returned  to  St. 
Louis. 

"St.  Louis,  Oct.  27,  1861. 

*'  I  went  down  the  day  after  you  left  me  to  see  the  gunboats, 
which  are  in  the  form  I  sent  you  a  sketch  of.  We  were  or- 
dered here  in  such  haste  by  request  of  General  Fremont.  Our 
business  is  to  go  down  the  river  and  open  it  free  of  batteries. 
An  army  of  sixty  thousand  men  will  go  with  us.  I  suppose 
they  take  the  shore  line,  when  any  attacks  are  made. 

"  General  Fremont  has  gone  North  with  the  army  to  try  to 
recover  lost  ground  which  Price  is  in  possession  of  at  Lexing- 
ton. Foote  has  just  come  up  from  Cairo  where  he  went  to 
see  about  some  gunboats  they  have  there.  Rodgers  went  up 
to-day  in  a  gunboat,  for  the  purpose  of  assisting  Fremont  in 
his  expedition  up  the  river. 

"  Our  gunboats  are  heavy,  some  fifteen  or  sixteen  guns,  8 
inch,  and  9  inch,  and  42  pound  rifle  guns,  but  it  is  doubtful 
whether  we  can  get  down  the  river,  on  account  of  the  draft  of 
water,  without  first  taking  out  the  guns." 

When  the  gunboats  were  finished,  Winslow,  by 
Captain  Foote's  orders,  gave  the  little  flotilla  a 
trial  trip  in  squadron,  which  proved  highly  satis- 
factory. The  flotilla  was  then  temporarily  divided 
for  convenience,  and  Winslow  took  the  first  section 
to  the  base  at  Cairo  where  he  placed  them  under 
General  Grant's  care  and  returned  to  St.  Louis  for 
the  remainder.  With  this  second  section  was  the 
Benton,  a  much  larger  and  stronger  vessel  than  the 
others,  having  been  originally  constructed  to  re- 
move snags  from  the  rivers,  but  she  was  weak  in 
motive  power.  Because  of  her  heavier  battery  and 
protection  she  had  been  selected  for  the  flagship. 


74  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

In  conducting  the  several  sections  Winslow  took 
personal  command  of  the  Benton  and  was  accom- 
panied by  Mr.  Eads,  the  builder  of  the  gunboats. 
The  Bento7i  grounded,  as  had  been  feared,  on  a 
trip  down,  and  Winslow  received  a  severe  and  in- 
capacitating wound  in  the  left  arm  by  the  parting 
of  a  cable  used  in  getting  her  off.  Mr.  Eads's  ac- 
count of  the  accident,  published  in  the  Century 
Magazine,  January,  1885,  is  as  follows: 

"...  I  was  requested  by  Admiral  Foote,  as  a  special 
favor  to  him,  to  accompany  the  Benton,  the  eighth  one  of  the 
fleet,  in  her  passage  down  to  Cairo.  It  was  in  December,  and 
the  water  was  falling  rapidly 

"  The  wish  of  Admiral  Foote  to  have  me  see  this  boat  safely 
to  Cairo  was  prompted  by  his  knowledge  that  I  had  experi- 
ence in  the  management  of  steamboats  upon  the  river,  and  his 
fear  that  she  would  be  detained  by  grounding.  Ice  had  just 
begun  to  float  in  the  Mississippi  when  the  Benton  put  out  from 
my  shipyard  at  Carondelet  for  the  south.  Some  thirty  or 
forty  miles  below  St.  Louis  she  grounded.  ...  An  anchor 
was  put  out  for  the  purpose  of  hauling  her  off.  My  advice 
was  not  asked  with  reference  to  this  first  proceeding,  and 
although  I  had  been  requested  by  Admiral  Foote  to  accom- 
pany the  vessel,  he  had  not  instructed  the  captain,  so  far  as  I 
knew,  to  be  guided  by  my  advice  in  case  of  difficulty.  After 
they  had  been  working  all  night  to  get  the  boat  afloat,  she  was 
harder  on  than  ever  ;  moreover,  the  water  had  fallen  about 
six  inches.  I  then  volunteered  the  opinion  to  Capt.  Winslow 
that  if  he  would  run  hawsers  ashore  in  a  certain  direction, 
directly  opposite  to  that  in  which  he  had  been  trying  to  move 
the  boat,  she  could  be  got  off".  He  replied,  very  promptly  : 
*  Mr.  Eads,  if  you  will  undertake  to  get  her  off,  I  shall  be  very 
willing  to  place  the  entire  crew  under  your  direction.'  I  at 
once  accepted  the  offer,  and  Lieutenant  Bishop  was  called  up 
and  instructed  to  obey  my  directions.  Several  very  large 
hawsers  had  been  put  on  board  of  the  boat  for  the  fleet  at 


Duty  with  the  Western  Flotilla.        75 

Cairo.  One  of  the  largest  was  got  out  and  secured  to  a  large 
tree  on  the  shore,  and  as  heavy  a  strain  was  put  upon  it  as  the 
cable  would  be  likely  to  bear.  As  the  water  was  still  falling, 
I  ordered  out  a  second  one,  and  a  third,  and  a  fourth,  until 
five  or  six  eleven-inch  hawsers  were  heavily  strained  in  the 
effort  to  drag  the  broad-bottomed  vessel  off  the  bar.  There 
were  three  steam  capstans  on  the  bow  of  the  vessel,  and  these 
were  used  in  tightening  the  strain  by  luffs  upon  the  hawsers. 
One  of  the  hawsers  was  led  through  a  snatch-block  fastened 
by  a  large  chain  to  a  ringbolt  in  the  side  of  the  vessel.  I  was 
on  the  upper  deck  of  the  vessel  near  Captain  Winslow  when 
the  chain  which  held  this  block  broke.  It  was  made  of  iron 
one  and  one-eighth  inches  in  diameter,  and  the  link  separated 
into  three  pieces.  The  largest,  being  one-half  of  the  link,  was 
found  on  the  shore  at  a  distance  of  at  least  five  hundred  feet. 
Half  of  the  remainder  struck  the  iron  plating  on  the  bow  of 
the  boat,  making  an  indentation  half  the  thickness  of  one's 
finger  in  depth.  The  third  piece  struck  Captain  Winslow  on 
the  fleshy  part  of  the  arm,  cutting  through  his  coat  and  the 
muscles  of  his  arm.  The  wound  was  a  very  painful  one,  but 
he  bore  it  as  might  be  expected.  The  iron  had  probably  cut 
an  inch  and  a  half  into  the  arm  below  the  elbow.  In  the 
course  of  the  day  the  Benton  was  floated  and  proceeded  on 
her  voyage  down  the  river  without  further  delay.     ..." 

This  occurred  on  Sunday,  December  8th,  and 
five  days  later  the  Bentoit  reached  Cairo,  when  her 
wounded  commander  was  taken  in  charge  by  his 
son,  Paymaster  William  Randolph  Winslow,  who 
thus  informed  his  mother  : 

"Cairo,  December  ij,  1861, 

"  Dear  Mother  : 

"  Father  arrived  here  to-day  in  the  Benton  about  one  p.m. 
He  came  over  to  the  Emerald  this  afternoon.  He  received  a 
very  severe  wound  in  his  left  arm  just  below  the  elbow,  from 
the  parting  of  a  chain  while  aground  in  the  Benton  last  Sun- 
day.    One  of  the  pieces  of  a  link  of  the  broken  chain  flew 


76  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

with  such  force  as  to  go  right  through  his  arm,  tearing  out 
all  the  muscle  ;  the  doctor  put  the  muscle  back  and  sewed  up 
the  wound  though  it  was  very  jagged.     ..." 

In  pencil,  on  the  back  of  his  son's  letter,  Captain 
Winslow  writes  as  follows  : 

"  You  see  by  this  that  not  my  right  but  my  left  arm  is 
injured,  a  severe  wound.  I  hope  to  be  confined  but  a  short 
time.  The  bolt  cut  my  arm  diagonally.  I  made  no  com- 
plaint, but  when  I  was  caught  and  several  hands  pressed  the 
arteries,  I  told  them  to  stop  and  let  go,  as  I  wanted  to  ascer- 
tain if  the  bone  was  broken.  Loss  of  blood  created  great 
faintness.  My  services  at  present  will  be  a  sad  loss  to  Foote. 
It  was  a  great  mercy  that  the  bolt  did  not  strike  me  on  the 
body,  as  it  would  have  made  an  end  of  me.  Good  bye.  God 
bless  you  all,  is  the  prayer  of  your  affectionate  husband. 
Love  to  the  children." 

His  son  writes  again  on  December  15,  1861  : 

"  Father  has  suffered  a  great  deal  of  pain  yesterday  and 
to-day.  The  doctor  poultices  his  arm  every  two  hours  and  I 
do  everything  I  can  for  him,  but  he  is  very  badly  hurt. 
Father  will  not  be  able  to  do  duty  for  some  time.  If  he  had 
not  been  wounded  he  would  have  had  command  of  the  SA 
Louis.  Moving  him  from  the  Bentoi  was  very  bad  for  him. 
Everybody  is  devoted  and  they  all  do  all  they  can  for  him. 
He  sends  love  and  says  his  recovery  will  be  very  tedious. 


As  soon  as  he  was  able  to  travel,  Winslow  was 
ordered  home  to  recuperate,  and  as  soon  as  he  had 
sufficiently  recovered  his  strength  he  applied  for 
orders,  and  on  May  3,  1862,  was  ordered  back  to 
the  Mississippi  Flotilla.  As  he  was  now  to  become 
actively  engaged  in   Mississippi  River  operations, 


Duty  with  the  Western  Flotilla.         n 

we   must  go  back  and  briefly  bring  them  up   to 
date. 

The  Confederate  reply  to  the  preparations  at 
Cairo  was  to  cross  into  Kentucky  and  fortify  the 
river  bluffs  at  Columbus  and  Hickman,  Bluffs 
suitable  for  land  defences  along  the  Mississippi 
were  few  and  far  apart,  and  the  Confederates  had 
promptly  fortified  all  within  their  territory  soon 
after  war  broke  out.  General  Grant  then  occupied 
Paducah  and  Smithland,  in  Kentucky  on  the  Ohio, 
to  secure  his  river  communications.  Nothing 
further  occurred  in  1861  except  an  expedition  down 
the  river  to  Belmont,  opposite  Columbus.  This 
General  Grant  had  undertaken  to  prevent  the  Con- 
federates from  cutting  off  a  force  sent  on  recon- 
naissance into  Missouri,  and  also  to  serve  as  a  little 
practice  in  combined  operations,  and  to  season  his 
troops  under  fire  while  waiting  for  the  completion 
of  the  flotilla  building  at  St.  Louis. 

By  occupying  Paducah  and  Smithland,  where  the 
Tennessee  and  Cumberland  Rivers  emptied  into  the 
Ohio,  General  Grant  had  sufficiently  secured  his 
rear  so  long  as  he  remained  quiescent  at  the  Cairo 
base,  for  he  could  readily  reinforce  them  if  they 
were  attacked  ;  but  the  Confederates  held  two  strong 
positions  farther  up  these  rivers  at  Forts  Henry 
and  Donelson.  When  preparations  for  aggressive 
operations  down  the  Mississippi  were  nearing  com- 
pletion, it  became  apparent  to  General  Grant  and 
Captain  Foote  that  if  they  took  Forts  Henry  and 
Donelson,  and  if  then  Grant's  army  advanced  along 
the  Tennessee    River  parallel    to   the    Mississippi 


78  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

while  Foote  went  down  the  latter,  the  Confederate 
positions  along  the  east  bank,  being  encompassed 
front  and  rear,  would  be  evacuated  or  surrendered. 
Accordingly,  a  combined  expedition  started  for  Fort 
Henry  in  the  beginning  of  February,  1862,  Flag 
Officer  Foote  proceeding  up  the  Tennessee  with 
four  of  his  gunboats.  The  troops  were  delayed, 
and  on  the  6th  the  gunboats  engaged  and  took  the 
fort.  The  railroad  bridge  also  was  destroyed,  and 
the  river  raided  to  the  headwaters  of  navigation 
and  cleared  of  all  Confederate  material.  Fort 
Donelson  was  then  invested,  and  it  surrendered  to 
General  Grant  on  the  i6th.  Columbus,  on  the 
Mississippi,  with  its  communicMions  by  rail  now 
severed,  and  being  out  of  touch  with  a  supporting 
force,  was  evacuated,  together  with  Hickman,  in  the 
beginning  of  March,  the  Confederates  dropping 
down  the  river  to  Island  No.  10.  Operations  against 
this  position  continued  until  the  7th  of  April,  Gen- 
eral Pope  conducting  the  land  work  from  the  Mis- 
souri side  of  the  river,  while  General  Grant  was 
working  his  way  south  along  the  line  of  the  Ten- 
nessee. On  that  date  the  island  fell,  and  the  river 
was  clear  as  far  as  Fort  Pillow,  while  on  the  same 
date  General  Grant  defeated  the  Confederates  on 
the  Tennessee  at  Pittsburg  Landing  (Shiloh),  due 
east  of  Memphis.  The  armies  from  Island  No.  10 
and  Pittsburg  Landing  had  been  united  near  the 
latter  place  under  General  Halleck,  and  Foote's 
flotilla  had  taken  a  position  before  Fort  Pillow,  when 
Winslow  rejoined  on  the  loth  of  May.  On  the 
previous  day,  Flag  Officer  Foote  had  temporarily 


Duty  with  the  Western  Flotilla.         79 

turned  over  the  command  to  Captain  Charles  H. 
Davis  and  gone  North  to  recuperate  from  wounds 
received  at  Donelson,  but  from  which  he  never 
sufficiently  recovered  to  resume  his  command. 

At  the  other  end  of  the  river  Farragut  had  passed 
the  forts  below  New  Orleans,  and  was  off  that 
city. 


CHAPTER  X. 


RETURN    TO    DUTY    ON    THE    MISSISSIPPI. 


WINSLOW  arrived  at  Fort  Pillow  in  time  to 
be  aneye-witness  of  the  attack  on  the  flo- 
tilla by  Confederate  rams.  From  all  accounts,  this 
took  place  on  the  loth  of  May,  so  the  following 
letter  describing  it  must  have  been  misdated : 

"  Off  Fort  Pillow, 

' '  Saturday,  May  9,  1862. 

"  I  reached  here  at  early  daylight  this  morning,  and  was 
waiting  for  a  boat  to  go  to  the  Flag  Ship,  when  some  six  or 
seven  of  the  enemy's  boats  rounded  the  Point  and  went  after 
the  gunboat,  which  was  guarding  the  mortar  boat  in  advance  ; 
then  commenced  an  action  in  which  only  about  three  boats 
participated  in  close  action.  I  do  not  know  why  it  was,  but 
the  other  boats  did  not  follow.  I  was  making  every  effort  to 
get  on  board  the  Flag  Ship,  going  down  to  her  in  a  skiff,  when 
the  enemy  retreated,  no  doubt  disabled.  I  thought  the  busi- 
ness was  just  commencing  when  it  ceased.  They  balled  and 
they  battered,  and  the  Cincinnati  was  run  on  shore,  filled  with 
water  ;  and  the  Mound  City  is  not  much  better  off.  I  think  it 
was  an  expiring  effort  of  the  enemy,  for  they  would  not  wait 
for  all  the  fleet  to  get  into  action  before  they  were  off.  Except 
at  the  mortar  boat,  which  they  first  attacked,  they  fired  noth- 
ing but  musketry.  I  saw  Foote  last  night  half  way  to  Cairo  ; 
he  is  suffering.     Poor  Stembel '  was  totally  uncovered,  fool- 

'  Stembel  commanded  the  Cincinnati.     She  was  sent  to  Cairo  for  repairs. 

80 


Return  to  Duty  on  the  Mississippi.      81 

ishly  so,  when  he  was  hit  by  a  sharpshooter  in  the  same  way 
that  Charles  Morris  was  at  Tobasco.  Stembel  was  a  noble 
man,  and  his  poor  wife  was  in  such  fine  spirits  about  him,  just 
going  to  her  home  in  Cincinnati  when  I  left  Cairo. 

"  I  do  not  know,  at  present,  what  boat  I  may  command,  they 
are  in  such  a  turmoil.  I  will  write  you  more  soon.  One  of 
the  enemy's  vessels  blew  up  and  struck  her  flag  —  drifting 
down,  and  the  others  were  disabled,  as  reports  received  say, 
and  sunk  below,  before  reaching  Fort  Pillow.  There  must 
have  been  great  loss  of  life." 

"St.  Louis,  Saturday,  May  jj,  1862. 
"  I  was  despatched  up  here  for  Rams,  expecting  to  find  them 
nearly  ready,  but  they  are  just  commencing  to  be  built,  so  you 
may  see  the  chances  I  have  of  getting  away.     Since  I  cannot 
hurry  them,  I  must  take  things  as  easy  as  I  can." 

"St.  Louis,  June  4,  1862. 

"  I  have  just  received  a  letter  from  Davis  offering  me  com- 
mand of  the  Cincinnati,  which  I  have  accepted,  and  therefore  I 
expect  to  be  in  Cairo  and  in  the  Cincinnati  this  time  next  week. 
The  enemy  still  hold  the  Mississippi,  but  I  cannot  think  it  will 
be  long  before  they  are  compelled  to  give  up  all  their  positions 
and  the  river  be  opened. 

"  The  prospect  of  passing  the  summer  on  the  river  is  immi- 
nent, consequently  the  hot  season  is  before  us.  I  am  glad  of 
the  change  of  duty,  for  St.  Louis  does  not  present  those  ad- 
vantages for  me  as  a  shore  station  which  the  East  would  and  I 
like  the  activity  of  the  regular  service  when  I  am  away  from 
home.     I  do  not  want  shore  duty  except  with  my  family. 

"  The  presentation  of  a  flag  to  one  of  the  Rams  came  off 
yesterday.  A  very  handsome  speech  by  Mr.  Leighton  of 
Cambridge  was  made  in  presenting  it.  He  is  Provost  Marshal 
and  was  deputed  by  the  ladies  who  made  the  flag." 

On  the  30th  of  May  the  Union  armies,  having 
advanced  west  from  Pittsburg  Landing,  compelled 
the  Confederate   army  to   evacuate  Corinth,  thus 


82  John  Ancrum  Winslovv. 

severing  the  eastern  communications  with  Memphis 
and  Fort  Pillow.  The  latter  was  therefore  evacu- 
ated on  the  4th  of  June.  On  the  5th  the  flotilla 
moved  down  within  two  miles  of  Memphis.  A 
battle  was  fought  and  won  next  day  against  the 
Confederate  River  Defence  Fleet,  and  Memphis 
surrendered. 

"  Memphis,  June  14,  1S62. 

"  I  am  now  in  command  of  the  Cincinnati  at  this  place,  which 
is  about  as  large  as  Cleveland  ;  it  looks  desolated — like  Sun- 
day, no  shops  open  and  everything  wears  a  blue  look,  I  pre- 
sume the  shop-keepers  are  afraid  it  may  again  fall  into  secession 
hands.  It  is  astonishing  what  the  reign  of  terror  has  been, 
which,  even  now,  retains  such  power  that  the  people  are  afraid 
to  expose  themselves  freely. 

"  We  shall  not  move  from  here  until  a  sufficient  army  is  left 
to  hold  the  place  against  attack,  although  expeditions  may  be 
made.  One  left  to-day  for  the  White  River.  I  sent  for  Ran- 
dolph yesterday  who  came  on  board  looking  well  and  finely, 
is  happy  in  his  present  position.  The  Cincinnati  is  not  very 
well  repaired  from  the  ramming  she  had,  and,  in  consequence, 
the  magazine  leaks  and  the  powder  has  been  taken  out.  The 
weather  is  warm  but  I  manage  well  enough.  I  sleep  out  of 
my  room  with  a  mattress  on  four  chairs,  close  up  to  a  32  pound 
gun.  Davis  seems  a  good  friend  to  me  but  he  is  not  the  friend 
Foote  is.  Foote  at  the  last  account  was  not  so  well,  but  he 
wants  to  return  here. 

"  A  division  of  Halleck's  troops  came  in  yesterday  and  will 
hold  the  town,  but  I  doubt  if  we  move  for  some  time  yet." 

"  Memphis,  June  ij,  1S62. 
"  Long  before  this  reaches  you  I  shall  be  off  up  the  White 
River  and  hope  to  be  back  again.  You  will  have  seen  the 
telegram  of  the  capture  of  a  place  on  the  White  River  by  the 
Fleet,  supported  by  a  division  of  the  Army.  Singular,  the  ac- 
cident occurred,  which  I  attempted  and  used  all  exertions  to 
obviate  by  protecting  the  boilers  from  shot.      A  shot  went 


Return  to  Duty  on  the  Mississippi.      83 

through  Kilty's  vessel,  the  Mound  City,  blew  up  the  boilers, 
killing  and  scalding  horribly  more  men  than  a  fight  of  a  week's 
duration  would  have  done.  When  I  was  wounded  in  the 
Benton,  I  was  using  all  attempts  to  prevent  this  evil.  I  am 
now  going  to  put  the  bulkheads  up  before  I  leave  in  the 
Cincinnati. 

"  I  am  ordered  to  command  the  expedition.  We  shall  have 
the  Pittsburg,  the  St.  Louis,  the  Conestoga  and  two  or  three 
other  boats.  Our  object  is  to  try  and  communicate  with  Gen- 
eral Curtis  who  commands  the  Army  in  Arkansas,  and  open  a 
means  to  supply  him  with  provisions,  but  the  prospect  is  bad, 
as  from  what  I  learn  the  river  has  fallen,  so  there  is  not  suffi- 
cient water  to  get  up  at  present. 

"  I  have  just  been  on  board  of  the  Hospital  Boat,  such  a 
sight  I  never  witnessed.  Poor  Kilty,  the  (ex-)  Commander  of 
the  expedition,  is  doing  well  though  badly  scalded.  I  do  not 
know  how  many  are  killed  and  wounded.  My  little  friend 
Brown  [son  of  Rev.  Dr.  Brown  of  Cincinnati]  whose  position 
I  obtained  for  him,  is  dead,  and  his  brother,  who  was  to  have 
been  R's  clerk,  is  saved  and  went  up  this  afternoon  with  the 
remains.  As  I  was  passing  through  the  Hospital  Boat,  every 
one  was  cursing  the  Rebel  Colonel,  who,  they  said,  had  or- 
dered the  men  to  be  shot  as  they  were  swimming  to  shore,  and 
he  ought  to  be  hung  for  it. 

"I  was  anxious  to  see  the  Colonel  who  was  wounded  and 
lying  in  a  cot.  I  was  directed  to  it.  I  saw  a  remarkably 
handsome  man,  with  a  fine  head.  I  thought  I  recognized  his 
countenance  as  I  passed  by.  On  my  return  he  called,  *  Cap- 
tain Winslow.'  I  was  astonished  and  asked,  '  Who  are  you  ? ' 
*  Mr.  Fry,'  he  replied,  '  an  old  ship  mate  of  yours.'  He  was  a 
midshipman  in  the  Missouri  with  me.  He  said  that  reports 
had  got  about  that  he  had  ordered  the  fire  on  the  men  swim- 
ming,— it  was  not  so.  I  knew  him  too  well  to  believe  that  such 
an  order  could  emanate  from  him,  and  I  fully  believed  him,  for 
he  was  a  nice  fellow.  He  said  that  God  had  visited  the  sins  of 
the  people  upon  them,  and  that  he  was  heartily  tired  of  the  war, 
I  told  him  he  would  be  sent  to  Fort  Warren,  and  he  replied  he 
had  sailed  from  thereabouts.    It  seems,  he  commanded  the  port, 


84  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

having  sunk  his  gunboat  and  taken  the  guns  on  a  bluff  to  de- 
fend the  river.  Singular,  he  commanded  the  Ivy  which  Frank 
chased  in  the  Water  Witch.  He  said  Frank's  shell  were 
splashing  all  about  him.  He  gave  a  most  ridiculous  account 
of  the  Vincennes  and  the  other  vessels  at  Rollins'  fight '  ;  said 
he  never  laughed  so  much  in  his  life.  He  would  not  fire  on 
the  Vincennes.,  but  was  in  hopes  of  popping  the  Richmond.  He 
said  that  Hollins  went  down  as  a  spree,  more  as  a  joke  at  the 
time,  and  afterwards  would  not  continue  the  fight,  but  laid  up 
along  the  bank  of  the  river,  while  it  went  on,  and  afterwards 
wrote  the  most  bombastic,  foolish  letter  to  the  Confederate 
Government  in  which  he  praised  himself  and  nobody  else. 

"  I  asked  him  about  the  river  we  are  going  up  :  he  said  he 
was  sorry  it  was  nothing  but  jungle,  and  I  must  keep  close  or 
the  guerillas  would  shoot  me,  and  he  would  not  have  me  hurt 
for  anything.  I  think  if  any  guerillas  are  about,  the  last  place 
they  will  be  found  will  be  in  reach  of  our  grape  and  canister. 
He  said  I  could  not  go  up  at  any  time  beyond  Augusta,  his 
vessel  was  ashore  there  a  month  ago,  and  the  river  had  fallen 
so  since  we  could  not  even  reach  there  now.  But  it  makes  no 
difference  we  must  try  and  do  the  best  we  can.  I  do  not  want 
you  to  feel  anxious.  I  wish  I  had  time  to  write  you  more  fully 
but  it  is  night,  and  I  am  preparing,  giving  various  orders,  etc. 
Poor  Kilty  said  to  me,  '  You  have  had  your  turn,  now  ours  has 
come.'     Randolph  no  doubt  writes  you  from  Fort  Pillow." 

Colonel  Fry  subsequently  commanded  the  unfor- 
tunate filibustering  steamer  Virginius,  which  was 
captured  by  the  Spaniards  and  taken  to  Santiago 
de  Cuba  in  1874,  where  he  and  most  of  his  crew 
were  executed. 

"  Off  the  Mouth  of  the  White  River, 
"  Mississippi,  June  zj,  1862. 

"  I  have  just  come  down  the  White  River  with  the  expedi- 
tion.  The  depth  of  water  was  not  sufficient  for  us,  and  the  river 

'  Oct.  13,  1861,  when  Captain  Hollins  stampeded  the  Federal  fleet  at  the 
Head  of  the  Passes  by  a  night  attack,  but  failed  to  follow  up  his  advantage. 


Return  to  Duty  on  the  Mississippi.      85 

is  falling  fast  so  that  we  could  not  have  got  down  had  we  re- 
mained longer.  On  the  22d  instant  we  were  attacked  by 
guerillas  just  after  I  had  read  prayers  on  Sunday,  and  I  was 
going  on  shore  when  they  had  the  opportunity  of  firing  at  us 
— we  lost  two,  killed. 

"  I  took  two  gunboats  the  following  day  and  three  companies 
of  soldiers  and  went  round  to  Indian  Bay  in  hopes  of  captur- 
ing some  of  them.  We  took  three  prisoners  and  while  I  was 
absent,  they  again  attacked  the  boats  that  we  left,  without  do- 
ing any  damage.  I  have  just  ordered  two  iron  clad  boats  up 
to  Memphis  with  despatches  and  I  expect  to  go  up  soon  my- 
self but  I  must  remain  with  the  Lexington  to  protect  the  sol- 
diers who  are  in  transports  and  awaiting  a  large  expedition  to 
go  up  to  succor  General  Curtis  in  Arkansas,  the  river  being 
too  low  for  our  gunboats  to  go  up." 

On  the  1 7th  of  June,  Flag  Officer  Foote  had  been 
reHeved  from  command  of  the  Western  Flotilla  at 
his  own  request  on  account  of  his  illness,  and  on 
the  22d,  Captain  Davis  was  appointed  Flag  Officer. 
On  the  29th,  the  latter,  with  a  division  of  his  com- 
mand, went  down  the  river,  and  joined  Farragut 
above  Vicksburg  on  July  ist,  leaving  Winslow  in 
command  of  the  division  at  Memphis.  The  river 
was  now  clear  of  all  floating  opposition  except  the 
ram  Aj^kansas,  which  was  destroyed  a  month  later, 
but  Vicksburg  still  held  out  for  more  than  a  year. 

"  U.  S.  Gunboat  'Si.  Louis,' 

"  Memphis,  y^ufy  21,  1862. 
"  General  Sherman  who  is  in  command  has  seized  all  the 
freighting  boats  (which  have  just  brought  our  mails)  filled 
them  with  troops  and  sent  them  down  the  river.  I  suppose 
these  are  eventually  to  operate  against  Vicksburg.  I  am 
afraid  some  of  our  mail  boats  have  been  stopped.  A  masked 
battery  was  sprung  on  the  last  one  which  came  up  and  she  was 


86  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

considerably  damaged  by  shots,  though  no  person  was  injured 
We  have  every  day  extravagant  reports  got  up  by  the  Secesh, 
but  now  that  most  of  them  have  been  put  out  of  the  city  or 
ordered  to  take  the  oath,  an  end  will  be  put  to  this  business. 

*'  I  am  without  news  from  the  lower  fleet  since  I  wrote  you 
but  1  expect  everything  is  tranquil  as  it  is  here.  I  think  that 
McLellan's  repulse  has  put  a  damper  on  movements  all  round, 
and  there  is  an  indisposition  to  undertake  further  operations 
until  the  hot  season  is  over.  The  officers  are  all  sick  at  Cairo 
—  this  river  uses  every  one  up.  I  do  not  see  any  end  to  the 
war.  If  the  President  does  not  emancipate  the  slaves  and  use 
energetic  measures  of  confiscation,  we  might  as  well  make 
peace  at  once  for  our  armies  support  instead  of  harass  the 
South." 

"  U.  S.  Gunboat  '^  St.  Louis, ^ 

"Memphis,  July  22,  1862. 

"  I  am  sick  with  intermittent  fever  .  .  .  They  have 
been  very  much  chagrined  in  the  Fleet  by  the  Ram  Arkansas 
passing  the  whole  of  them  without  destruction.  There  was  a 
great  loss  of  life  on  our  side,  more  than  in  all  the  fighting  passing 
and  repassing  Vicksburg.  General  Sherman  is  in  command 
here.  I  have  not  seen  him  yet.  I  think  a  movement  will 
soon  be  made  by  the  army  down  the  Mississippi  and  Vicksburg 
will  no  doubt  fall  ;  but  the  war  seems  as  far  as  ever  from 
ending. 

*'  The  heat  is  so  intense  here  it  is  impossible  to  go  on  shore. 
We  have  a  great  deal  of  sickness  in  the  Fleet,  but  nothing 
kills  as  the  fire  does,  our  firemen  cannot  stand  it.  Randolph 
is  well,  his  position  is  a  good  one  at  Fort  Pillow." 

"  Memphis,  Au^.j,  1862. 
"  You  will  have  heard  of  the  abandoning  Vicksburg  and 
the  Fleet  coming  to  Helena  which  is  some  ninety  miles  below 
Memphis  and  is  the  headquarters  of  General  Curtis'  army. 
Davis  passed  here  last  night  in  company  with  General  Curtis. 
The  boat  came  alongside  at  2  o'clock  a.m.  when  I  was  aroused, 
but  Davis  was  asleep  and  I  did  not  see  him.  I  do  not  know 
what  he  is  going  to  Cairo  for.  I  learn  Curtis  is  on  his  way  to 
Washington.     I  do  not   think   any  operations   will  be  made 


Return  to  Duty  on  the  Mississippi.      87 

against  Vicksburg  until  the  weather  is  cooler  and  reinforce- 
ments of  the  troops  are  made  from  the  300,000  new  levies 
asked  for  by  the  President.  The  Rebels  are  very  active  about 
here,  endeavoring  to  cross  the  Mississippi  with  ammunition 
and  stores  for  the  Arkansas  friends.  I  have  sent  dov/n  the 
Mound  City  to  cut  them  off  some  fifty  miles  from  here.  It  is 
a  great  misfortune  that  our  people  could  not  have  seized  upon 
Vicksburg  at  first,  when  few  guns  were  mounted.  There 
would  have  been  less  loss  of  life,  but  there  is  no  army  to 
operate  and  hence  its  abandonment.  They  are  now  em- 
boldened and  making  great  efforts  to  stop  up  the  river  at 
various  points.  We  are  now  some  two  miles  from  Memphis 
doing  the  work  of  enclosing  our  boilers,  so  when  we  get  in  a 
fight  we  shall  not  be  blown  up. 

"  The  luck  which  hung  to  Foote  in  all  his  operations  seems 
to  be  deserting  us  now.  Foote  was  never  known  to  be  un- 
successful. God  in  His  mercy  seems  to  have  given  him 
success  through  life.     . 

"  I  meet  with  the  Generals  of  the  army  here  frequently 
when  on  shore,  my  duty  from  position  requiring  frequent  ap- 
plications for  support  in  their  movements,  and  telegrams  are 
received  of  the  operations  of  the  Enemy.  This  and  other 
duties  keep  my  mind  and  hands  full. 

"  I  send  you  a  slip  of  the  latest  news  of  Randolph  from  the 
newspaper : 

"  '  Guerillas  at  Fort  Pillow. 

Great  excitement  was  caused  yesterday  among  the  citizens 
at  Fort  Pillow.  News  reached  the  U.  S.  Gunboat  Cairo,  now 
lying  off  the  fort,  that  a  party  of  guerillas  were  in  force  at 
Brownsville  about  forty  miles  back  of  the  fort,  destroying  and 
burning  all  cotton  in  that  vicinity.  They  captured  several 
Union  men  and  committed  other  depredations  and  were  on 
their  way  to  Fort  Pillow.  Captain  Bryant  dispatched  Second 
Master  James  Moore,  accompanied  by  Paymaster  Winslow, 
with  forty  men  to  meet  them,  but  fortunately  for  them  they 
left  at  the  shortest  possible  notice.  Mr.  Moore  returned  early 
in  the  morning  after  six  hours'  hot  pursuit.'  " 


88  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

"  Memi'His,  Aiig.  9,  1862. 
**  I  send  herewith  a  copy  of  my  appointment   as  Captain.' 

"  The  Rebels  are  about  us  everywhere  in  guerilla  bands,  but 
I  do  not  apprehend  any  attack  on  the  city.  I  captured  day 
before  yesterday  a  boat  containing  many  new  swords  and  three 
or  four  hundred  caps,  tassels,  etc.,  all  from  Memphis.  The 
capture  led  to  the  arrest  of  certain  parties  engaged  here. 
The  proof  was  positive  and  the  gang  have  been  incarcerated. 
The  truth  is,  everybody  with  few  exceptions  sympathizes  with 
the  Rebels,  and  supplies  are  drawn  from  the  North,  which  im- 
mediately go  South.  Davis  and  Curtis  are  still  at  Cairo  tele- 
graphing with  Washington. 

"  1  am  not  in  good  health  ;  I  have  an  affection  of  the  ear, 
swollen  inside  and  discharging.  It  first  attacked  me  at  the 
capture  of  Tampico  and  has  frequently  troubled  me  since. 
The  number  of  diseases  this  river  brings  on  is  legion.  Good 
bye,  God  bless  and  preserve  you  all  in  the  times  which  are 
coming  on  this  country.  All  looks  dark  as  if  God's  visitation 
is  upon  us." 

"  Memphis,  Sept.  4,  1862. 

"  I  was  never  more  shocked  than,  in  taking  up  a  paper  last 
night,  to  see  the  death  of  Frank  Winslow*  announced.  Poor 
fellow,  so  anxious  as  he  ever  was  about  his  family,  to  die  so 
shortly  after  leaving  them  all.  I  thought  if  there  was  one 
place  of  more  safety  than  another,  it  was  the  station  to  which 
he  was  ordered.  His  country  has  lost  a  brave  officer  and  his 
friends  a  Christian  gentleman. 

"  Davis  got  dovvn  in  the  Eastport  a  day  or  two  since,  after 
having  been  several  times  on  shore  and  conveying  some  4000 
prisoners  down  to  Vicksburg. 

"  I  see  the  news — it  is  very  rebellious.  Until  the  slaves  are 
manumitted  we  shall  do  nothing,  then  we  shall  go  onward  to 
fight  God's  battles  and  relieve  thousands  of  His  praying 
Christians. 

"  Young  Tom   Selfridge   has   just   come  out  here.     He  is 

'  Appointed  Captain,  July  16,1862. 

*  Commander  Francis  Winslow,  a  cousin. 


Return  to  Duty  on  the  Mississippi.      89 

ordered  to  command  the  Cairo,  Randolph's  ship,  which  is 
ordered  to  leave  Fort  Pillow  and  drop  down  to  join  the  Fleet 
at  Helena.  We  have  daily  reports  that  the  Rebels  are  going 
to  attack  this  place,  but  General  Sherman  says  he  can  whip 
them  all  without  assistance." 

"  Memphis,  September  ip,  1862. 
*'  Yesterday  I  was  all  day  through  the  army  lines  examining 
everything  worth  seeing,  with  a  Captain  of  the  Russian  Navy 
whom  I  met  in  the  Pacific,  in  command  of  a  Frigate.  He  was 
very  grateful  for  attentions.  He  has  been  sent  out  by  his  Govern- 
ment to  examine  particularly  iron-clad  vessels,  with  the  inten- 
tion of  obtaining  all  information  respecting  them  before  their 
introduction  in  the  Russian  Navy.  He  goes  to  Helena  to 
examine  the  Rams,  etc." 

"  Memphis,  September  2g,  1862, 
"  Our  gunboat  is  now  named  the  Baron  de  Kalb  ;  having  one 
St.  Louis^  in  the  East  they  do  not  want  another  in  the  West. 
I  have  been  long  enough  in  the  West  and  I  do  not  care  to  re- 
main here  under  the  changes  made." 

'  A  sailing  frigate,  afterwards  at  Cadiz  when  Winslow  commanded  the 
Kearsarge, 


CHAPTER  XI. 


DETACHMENT    FROM    WESTERN    FLOTILLA. 

WE  have  already  seen  that  Winslow  was 
originally  assigned  to  the  Western  Flo- 
tilla at  the  request  of  Captain  Foote.  His  return 
to  that  duty  after  recovering  from  his  wound  was 
due  again  to  his  cordial  relations  with  that  officer, 
as  mav  be  seen  in  the  followingr  letter : 

"  Sir  :  "  Roxbury,  April  lo,  1862. 

"  The  capture  of  the  enemy's  floating  battery,  with  one  or 
two  gunboats,  in  the  Mississippi,  has  no  doubt  left  an  open- 
ing, without  interference  with  the  command  of  other  officers. 
I  respectfully  request  orders  to  report  myself  to  Commodore 
Foote,  for  any  duty  he  may  assign  me. 

"  I  would  beg  leave  to  state,  that  on  my  detachment  from 
the  Western  Flotilla,  that  Commodore  Foote  was  pleased  to 
express  his  sincere  regrets  that  my  injury  was  such  as  to  re- 
quire it  ;  as  on  no  officer  had  he  depended  so  much  for 
assistance,  from  ability  and  judgment. 

"Having  sufficiently  recovered  from  my  injury,  I  would  be 
pleased  to  receive  orders  to  this  duty,  or  any  other  (in  accord- 
ance with  my  previous  application),  which  the  Department 
may  assign  me  to. 

"Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

"Jno.  a.  Winslow,  Commander. 
"  Hon.  Gideon  Welles, 

"Secretary  of  the  Navy, 
"  Washington." 

90 


Detachment  from  Western  Flotilla.     91 

His  relations  with  Davis  were  less  personal  but 
officially  cordial,  and  he  remained  content  with  his 
assignment  as  long  as  that  officer  commanded  the 
flotilla,  although  his  promotion  to  Captain  towards 
the  close  of  the  period  gave  him  rank  out  of  pro- 
portion to  his  command.  About  the  ist  of  October, 
however,  it  became  known  that  Davis  was  to  be 
relieved  from  command  of  the  flotilla  and  David 
D.  Porter  was  to  be  advanced  and  assigned  to  it  as 
flag  officer.  Porter  was  junior  to  Winslow,  so  that 
it  became  the  latter's  right  and  duty  to  request 
a  new  assiofnment  commensurate  with  his  rank. 
Another  incident  occurred  at  this  time  which 
seemed  to  make  him  dissatisfied  and  not  a  little 
disgusted  with  his  command.  It  is  fully  set  forth 
in  the  following  letter,  which  seems,  too,  to  have 
closed  it. 

"  Gunboat  '^ Baron  de  Kalb^ 
"  Memphis,  October  4,  1862. 
"  My  dear  Sir  : 

"I  am  in  receipt  under  your  frank,  of  a  communication, 
addressed  by  a  writer  in  this  vessel,  to  the  editor  of  the  Balti- 
more American.  The  endeavor  of  the  author  seems  to  be  to 
show  that  the  late  paymaster  and  myself  were  not  faithful  to 
our  trusts.  Had  the  author  taken  the  same  pains  to  show  that 
I  was  nearly  an  abolitionist  and  a  person  who  believed  that 
Wendell  Phillips  was  fifty  years  in  advance  of  the  age,  he  had 
come  nearer  the  truth.  The  two  allegations  mentioned  are, 
first,  that  on  learning  the  news  of  Pope's  being  driven  back  to 
Arlington  Heights,  I  had  said  '  I  was  glad  of  it,  I  wish  they 
would  bag  old  Abe '  ;  this  is  true,  so  far  as  I  recollect,  but 
the  eaves-dropping  hearer  is  silent  as  to  the  context  which 
followed,  which  was  this,  'for  until  something  is  done  to 
arouse  the  Government  we  shall  have  no  fixed  policy.' 
Secondly,  that    I    had  treated   a  rebel   officer  in    transit  for 


92  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

exchange  courteously,  and  before  his  departure  had  shown  him 
all  the  weak  points  of  the  vessel.  The  first  part  of  this  is  also 
true  ;  but  the  author  was  no  doubt  ignorant  that  the  officer 
was  a  prisoner  who  had  been  captured  at  Donelson,  and  had 
fought  the  boat,  and  was  acquainted  from  inspection  of  all  her 
weak  points  before,  and  it  was  to  remove  his  impressions  of 
her  weakness,  that  he  was  asked  if  he  would  like  to  look  at 
her.  The  officer  had  learned  that  the  Mound  City  had  been 
blown  up  by  plunging  shot,  and  his  inspection  taught  him  that 
this  vessel  was  proof  against  a  similar  catastrophe. 

**  By  way  of  episode,  I  will  state  that  on  the  completion  of 
these  boats,  my  attention  was  directed  to  remedying  some  of 
their  many  defects,  in  the  most  practicable  manner,  but  my 
absence  at  home  from  a  hurt  received,  prevented  the  con- 
summation of  this  object.  I  had  however  before  leaving, 
informed  poor  Kilty  of  the  manner  I  had  intended  to  protect 
the  boilers,  begging  him  to  adopt  the  same  method.  His  reply 
was,  he  v/ould  gladly  adopt  it,  but  it  could  not  be  done  ;  he  was 
wrong,  and  from  the  blowing  up  of  the  Mound  City,  has  to 
mourn  this  day  his  error.  On  my  joining  the  Cincinnati  I  im- 
mediately set  to  work  to  carry  out  my  views,  and  the  boilers 
were  fully  protected  before  her  departure  for  the  White  River, 
to  which  point  I  had  orders  for  the  command.  The  Caron- 
delet  next  followed,  and  her  escape  from  being  blown  up  by 
the  Arkansas  is  alone  owing  to  this  protection.  Subsequently 
the  remainder  of  these  boats  adopted  the  same  mode.  Hav- 
ing been  ordered  to  the  command  of  the  Memphis,  etc.,  just 
before  the  advent  of  the  Arkansas,  time  was  afforded,  and  this 
boat  was  more  effectually  protected  than  any  of  the  others, 
and  the  rebel  officer  was  permitted  to  examine  her. 

"  As  regards  the  views  of  the  author  on  the  loyalty  of  the 
late  paymaster,  he  is  equally  at  fault  here.  The  paymaster 
was  formerly  a  correspondent  of  Chicago  Tribune.  He  was  a 
black  republican,  who  could  suit  their  tastes  at  that  period  ; 
and  at  present  his  coat  has  received  a  deeper  dye. 

"  My  would-be  loyalist  has  no  doubt  learned  ere  this,  that 
one  in  power  can  be  kind  and  considerate  to  the  erring,  and 
yet  be  true  and  unshaken  in  principle,  or  he  has  not  availed 


Detachment  from  Western  Flotilla.     93 

himself  of   those    teachings,  which   I   have   so    earnestly  en- 
deavored to  inculcate  upon  the  crew. 

"  One  remark  I  will  add,  that  when  I  was  a  boy,  I  learned 
an  exi)osition  by  Horace  of  such  discoveries,  which  is  this, 
'Parturiunt  montes,  nascetur  ridiculus  mus,*  which  Jack, 
would  translate  :  '  The  fellow  has  fallen  upon  a  mare's  nest.' 

"  With  apologies  for  this  unusual  epistle  for  me,  I  remain, 

"  Very  truly  yours  &c., 

"  J.  A.  WiNSLOW. 

"  Hon.  GusTAVus  V.  Fox, 

"  Asstsla?it  Secretary  of  the  Navy^ 
"  Washington." 

Endorsement. 
"C.  C.  Fulton, 

"  With  compliments  of  G.  V.  Fox, 
"  Mr.  Fulton  will  recollect  the  sailor's  letter  he  sent  me. 

"  F." 

The  following  correspondence  then  ensued  with 
the  Navy  Department : 

"  Gunboat  '  Baron  de  Kalb,^ 

Memphis,  Oct.  lo,  1862. 
"  Sir  : 

"  The  Department  prior  to  ordering  me  to  Western  Flotilla 
was  pleased  to  forward  for  my  consideration  a  letter  of  Rear 
Admiral  Foote. 

"The  conditions  under  which  I  accepted  having  been  ma- 
terially modified  in  the  recent  change  of  the  Commander  of 
the  Flotilla  fleet,  I  would  respectfully  request  that  the  De- 
partment would  assign  me  to  other  duty. 

"  Very  respectfully, 

"  Your  obedient  serv't, 
"J.  A.  WiNSLOW,  Captain. 
"  The  Hon'l 

"  Gideon  Welles, 
•'  Secy  of  Navy,  Washtn.,  D.  C." 


94  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

Endorsement. 

"  The  application  contained  in  this  letter,  which,  if  unquali- 
fied, would  be  regarded  as  an  act  of  insubordination,  is  for- 
warded with  the  following  remark  : 

"  The  language  of  Captain  Winslow  implies  that  there  is  a 
special  understanding  with  the  Department  :  otherwise,  I 
should  recommend  that  the  request  be  not  complied  with. 

"  C.  H.  Davis, 
"  Actg.  Rear  Admiral^ 

"  Comdg.  Miss.  Squadron." 

"  Navy  Department, 

"  Oct.  22,  1862. 

"  Capt.  Jno.  a.  Winslow,  U.  S.  Navy^ 

"  Cairo,  Ills. 
"  Sir  : 

"  Your  letter  of  the  loth  instant  in  which  you  state  that  '  the 
conditions  under  which  I  accepted  having  been  materially- 
modified  in  the  recent  change  of  the  Commander  of  the 
Flotilla  Fleet,  I  would  respectfully  request  that  the  Depart- 
ment would  assign  me  to  other  duty '  has  been  received. 

"  You  are  hereby  detached  from  the  Mississippi  Squadron 
and  placed  on  Furlough. 

"  I  am  respectfully, 

"  Gideon  Welles." 

"Cairo,  III.,  A^ov.  i,  1S62. 

"Sir: 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  the 
Department's  letter  placing  me  on  furlough. 

"  It  would  appear  that  the  Department  seems  to  think  that 
I  have  in  some  way  reflected  on  them  for  placing  a  Junior 
Officer  in  command  of  the  Flotilla.  Of  this  the  Department 
may  feel  assured,  that  I  never  questioned  their  judgment  in 
the  selection  they  have  made  :  the  law  is  full  and  am])le,  and 
the  Department  was  the  proper  judge  of  who  should  be  ap- 
pointed, and  I  may  say  I  do  not  know  a  better  officer  than 
Admiral  Porter.     But   I  beg  leave  to  state  that  my  relations 


Detachment  from  Western  Flotilla.     95 

with  Admiral  Foote  were  of  that  character,  on  private  grounds, 
that  it  was  a  pleasure  to  be  with  him,  and  I  accepted  his  offer, 
made  through  the  Department,  when  I  knew  I  was  only  to 
command  a  gunboat  of  340  tons.  The  appointment  of  Ad- 
miral Davis,  or  Porter,  I  conceive,  under  the  circumstances, 
warranted  me  in  asking  for  a  better  command,  and  I  should 
have  done  so  under  the  former,  except  for  the  charge  of  fickle- 
ness. 

"  I  enclose  a  letter  addressed  to  me  by  the  officers  of  the 
Baron  de  Kalb,  which  as  a  testimonial  to  my  character,  I  re- 
spectfully submit.  My  duty  is  to  inform  the  Department  that 
my  residence  is  in  Roxbury,  Mass. 

"  Very  respectfully, 

*'  Your  obedient  servt., 

"  J.  A.  WiNSLOW,  Capt. 
"The  Hon.  G.  AVelles, 

"  Secretary  of  the  Navy, 
"  Washington." 

"  U.  S.  Gunboat  ^ Baron  de  Kalb^ 
"  Mississippi  River,  Oct.  j/,  1862. 

"  Sir  : — It  having  come  to  our  knowledge  that  you  are  de- 
tached from  this  vessel,  and  are  soon  to  leave  us  for  your 
home,  we  desire  that  you  bear  with  you  this  testimonial  of  all 
the  officers  with  whom  you  have  been  associated  on  board  this 
boat. 

"  We  feel  indeed  that  no  greater  calamity  could  have  be- 
fallen us  than  to  part  with  you  at  this  time.  Your  unexampled 
deportment,  your  kind  and  forbearing  nature,  in  connection 
with  your  many  Christian  virtues,  has  so  completely  attached 
us  to  you,  that  we  feel  with  deep  regret  the  loss  we  are  about 
to  sustain  ;  and  our  earnest  wish  is  that  you  may  soon  again  be 
back  with  us. 

"  In  the  meantime,  while  you  are  far  away  from  us,  we  would 
have  you  bear  in  mind,  in  your  leisure  moments,  that  far  out 
in  the  South  West  is  a  band  of  patriots,  grouped  together  on 
board  this  boat,  in  social  conversation,  which  will  be  often 
turned  to  wishing  and  praying  for  your  health  and  happiness. 


96 


John  Ancrum  Winslow. 


"  Receive  now  our  farewell,  with  the  hope  that  our  country 
could  appreciate  your  worth  as  we  know  it. 
"  Yours,  sincerely  and  truthfully, 
"  (Signed)       "  R.  G.  Baldwin,  Pilot. 

"  Wm.  C.  Underwood,  Pilot. 
"John  Wise,  Asst.  Surgeon. 
"  Alex.  Frazier,  jrd  Master. 
"  John  N.  Johnston,  Pirst  Lieut. 
"  Wm.  Carswell,  Chief  Pngineer. 
"  Thomas  AcKERMAN,  ist  Asst.  Pngineer. 
"  B.  Smith,  "      "       " 

"W.  Wilcoxen,  "      "       " 

"Charles  Kenbrick,  2d  Master. 
"  R.  C.  Madill,  ////  Master. 
"William  A.  Mann,  A.  A.  Paymaster. 
"  To  Capt.  John  A.  Winslow, 

"  U.  S.  Gunboat  'Paroti  de  Kalb.'  " 

"  Navy  Department, 
"  Washington,  November^,  1862. 
"  Captain  John  A.  Winslow,  U.  S.  Navy, 

"  Roxbury,  Mass. 
"  Sir  : 

"Your  letter  of  the  ist  instant,  explanatory  of  your  previous 
one  requesting  to  be  detached  from  the  Mississippi  Squadron 
has  been  received  and  which  is  satisfactory  to  the  Depart- 
ment. 

"  You  are  hereby  relieved  from  Furlough  and  you  will  regard 
yourself  as  waiting  orders. 

"  I  am  respectfully, 

"  Gideon  Welles." 


CHAPTER  XII. 


ASSIGNMENT    TO    COMMAND    THE    KEARSARGE. 


CAPTAIN  WINSLOW  reached  home  so  satu- 
rated with  malaria  from  the  river  swamps 
and  weakened  by  overwork,  and  so  much  disturbed 
in  mind  and  spirit  by  the  method  of  his  detachment, 
that  he  quickly  succumbed  to  illness.  A  painful 
disease  in  his  right  eye,  from  which  he  finally  lost 
its  sight,  now  began  to  develop,  while  the  sudden 
change  of  climate  brought  on  neuralgia.  He  was 
confined  to  his  bed  when  orders  came,  just  a  month 
after  his  arrival  home,  to  take  passage  in  the  U.  S. 
S.  Vanderbilt,  from  New  York  for  Fayal,  to  com- 
mand the  Kearsarge.  His  physician  told  him  that 
he  was  unfit  to  travel  and  urged  him  to  apply  to  be 
relieved  of  the  orders,  but  he  would  not  hear  of  it. 
On  Sunday  night,  December  7th,  he  took  train  for 
New  York,  accompanied  by  his  son,  and  at  once 
sought  his  berth.  It  had  snowed  throughout  the 
previous  day  and  the  high  wind  that  followed  had 
caused  deep  and  dangerous  drifts  along  the  road. 
Two  enorines  forced  the  train  throuQrh  until  about 
four  miles  from  Springfield,  when  they  jumped  the 
tracks,   dragging   the  baggage,   mail   and  express 

97 


98  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

cars  with  them.  Captain  Winslow  was  so  ill  that 
he  did  not  leave  his  berth,  but  was  content  with 
his  son's  investio^ation  of  the  accident. 

The  U.  S.  S.  Kearsarge  was  then  on  her  first 
cruise.  She  was  a  bark-rigged  steam  sloop  of  war  of 
1030  tons  displacement,  and  had  been  launched  at 
Portsmouth,  N.  H.,  on  the  5th  of  October,  1861. 
On  the  24th  of  January,  1862,  she  was  put  in  com- 
mission at  the  Portsmouth  Navy  Yard  by  Captain 
Charles  W.  Pickering,  who  was  ordered  to  com- 
mand her.  Captain  Pickering's  first  orders  were  to 
join  the  Gulf  Squadron,  but  they  were  almost  im- 
mediately modified,  and  he  was  directed  to  proceed 
with  the  utmost  despatch  to  Cadiz,  Spain,  in  search 
of  the  Confederate  cruiser  Siimter,  commanded  by 
Captain  Raphael  Semmes.  On  the  5th  of  Febru- 
ary the  Kearsarge  passed  out  of  Portsmouth  har- 
bor, cheered  and  saluted  from  the  forts  at  the 
entrance,  and  a  month  later  she  arrived  at  Gibral- 
tar, where  she  found  the  Sumter  blockaded  by  the 
U.  S.  S.  Tuscarora.  The  surveillance  of  the 
Sumter  continued  through  the  spring  and  sum- 
mer, when  it  was  learned  that  she  was  to  be  aban- 
doned as  a  Confederate  cruiser,  and  orders  were  sent 
to  Captain  Pickering  to  proceed  to  his  original  des- 
tination in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  These  orders  were 
quickly  countermanded,  however,  for  the  Navy 
Department,  having  learned  of  the  commissioning 
of  the  Confederate  Cruiser  Alabama  and  her  first 
depredations  in  the  Azores,  sent  the  Kearsarge  to 
search  their  neighborhood.  She  cruised  about 
these  islands  during  October  until  it  became  evi- 


Assignment  to  Command  Kearsarge.     99 

dent  that  the  Alaba77ia  had  sought  other  fields  ; 
then  she  returned  to  Gibraltar,  and  went  from  there 
to  Cadiz,  about  the  end  of  the  year,  for  necessary- 
repairs.  Through  a  dilatoriness  on  the  part  of 
Spanish  dockyard  employees,  which  seemed  almost 
intentional,  she  was  delayed  there  nearly  four 
months,  although  Captain  Pickering,  who  had 
learned  that  his  relief  was  awaiting  him  in  Fayal, 
did  everything  in  his  power  to  hasten  the  work. 
These  months  of  waiting,  while  probably  a  benefit 
to  Winslow's  general  health,  were  endured  by  him 
with  much  impatience. 

"  AsTOR  House,  New  York, 

"  Tues.  Night,  Dec.  9,  1862. 
"  We  sail  to-morrow  at  9  o'clock  in  the  U.  S.  S.  Vanderbilt. 
I  have  been  busy  making  arrangements  and  am  as  ready  as  the 
short  time  will  allow.  The  severe  strain  on  my  eye  in  going 
about  so  much  has  not  improved  it  any,  though  I  do  not  think 
it  worse,  and  as  soon  as  I  get  quiet  on  board  ship,  I  have  no 
doubt  I  shall  mend  rapidly.  ...  we  shall  cruise  slowly, 
looking  about  for  the  Alabama  on  our  way  out." 

"  Fayal,  Western  Islands, 

"'Dec.  24,  1862. 

"  After  a  pleasant  passage  of  fourteen  days,  uninterrupted 
by  encounters  with  the  Alabama,  we  have  dropped  anchor  in 
this  port,  and  I  have  again  met  that  courteous  old  gentleman, 
Mr.  Dabney.  I  am  sorry  to  say  my  eye  continues  to  trouble 
me  with  much  pain,  especially  at  night,  and  my  cold  hangs  on, 
with  the  lungs  inflamed,  which  keeps  me  under  the  weather. 
It  will  take  a  month  at  least  before  I  regain  my  usual  health. 

"  We  learn  the  Kearsarge,  which  we  expected  to  find  here, 
is  in  dry-dock  at  Cadiz  repairing  her  screw.  I  know  nothing 
of  the  future  movements  of  this  vessel  or  my  own,  which  are 
dependent  on  our  news  from  England. 

"  Our  passage  out  (in  the  U.  S.  S.  Vanderbilt)  was  zigzag. 


lOo  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

under  a  low  head  of  steam,  hoping  to  hear  of  or  fall  in  with 
the  Alabama.'' 

"  Fayal,  Dec.  30,  1862. 

"  The  Barque  Azov  belonging  to  Mr.  Dabney  has  just  ar- 
rived—  twelve  days  from  Boston  —  bringing  papers  up  to  the 
17th.  I  see  Burnside  has  crossed  the  Rappahannock,  been 
defeated  and  again  recrossed. — Sad  news  !  also  that  the  Ala- 
bama has  turned  up  off  Martinique,  where  she  has  been  burn- 
ing and  laying  waste  shipping.  The  Vanderbilt  will  sail 
immediately  for  Martinique.  We  '  remain  here  awaiting  the 
arrival  of  the  Kearsarge. 

"  I  learn  to-day  that  the  Alabama  has  got  out  again,  and  is 
pursuing  her  roving  mission  of  destruction. 

"  By  a  steamer,  bound  to  Cadiz  from  Havana,  which  has 
just  come  in,  I  have  written  Pickering  that  despatches  are  here 
awaiting  him  to  give  up  his  ship.  I  am  in  hopes  my  eye  will 
grow  better  under  the  genial  influence  of  this  delightful  cli- 
mate. The  inflammation  in  it  was  so  serious  that  time  must 
elapse  before  its  complete  restoration.  I  am  therefore  thank- 
ful for  the  rest  on  shore." 

"  Fayal,  ^an.  ii,  /S6j. 
"On  the  8th  inst.,  the  Onward,  one  of  our  cruisers,  which 
sailed  from  Boston  on  the  6th  of  November  in  pursuit  of  the 
Alabatfta,  arrived  from  Madeira.  She  has  been  despatched  to 
England  by  Captain  Craven  of  the  Tuscarora  for  information 
connected  with  sailing  of  vessels  and  supplies  for  the  Alabama. 
Had  I  any  definite  information  that  the  Kearsarge  would  be 
detained  in  Cadiz,  I  would  proceed  there  with  the  other  two 
officers  in  the  Onward.  But  as  I  am  daily  expecting  her  here, 
since  I  have  written  Capt.  Pickering,  I  think  my  best  course 
is  to  remain  here,  lest  we  might  cross  each  other's  tracks.  I 
am  exceedingly  weary  and  lonely  and  feel  like  one  expatri- 
ated, away  from  home  and  all  I  hold  dear.  My  eye  is  not  so 
well  and  I  have  taken  cold  again.  To-day  I  returned  the 
Governor's  call,  the  principal  subject  of  conversation  —  the 
never  ending  war." 

'  Lieutenant-Commander  Thornton  accompanied  Captain  Winslow  as 
his  executive  officer. 


Assignment  to  Command  Kearsarge.   loi 

"  Fayal,  Azores,  Feb.  i,  1S63. 
"  I  am  still  without  any  news  of  the  Kearsarge,  and  am  un- 
able to  say  when  we  shall  be  released  as  prisoners  from  these 
Islands.  It  seems  strange  that  the  Department  did  not  know 
more  about  the  Kearsarge  before  we  were  ordered  here.  How- 
ever, we  have  only  to  have  patience,  of  which  I  am  certain  it 
requires  no  small  amount.  What  I  miss  more  than  anything 
is  a  Protestant  Church,  but  I  have  regularly  held  service  for 
the  family  of  the  Hotel,  none  of  the  boarders  but  myself  being 
present.  Our  news  from  the  United  States  is  up  to  the  20th 
of  December,  giving  us  details  of  the  battle  of  Fredericksburg, 
which  occurred  six  days  after  we  left." 

"  Faval,  Azores,  March  14,  1863. 
"  What  do  you  think  of  our  remaining  here  all  winter  ?    The 
Kearsarge  has  been  in  dock,  repairing  at  Cadiz,  long  enough 
to   have  built  a  vessel  in  the  United  States,  and  I  am  not 
aware  that  she  has  yet  got  out. 

"  We  hear  the  Tuscarora  has  gone  to  Cadiz  to  repair  boilers. 
It  is  singular  that  neither  of  these  vessels  has  been  about  these 
Islands.  For  the  last  fortnight,  several  suspicious  steamers 
have  been  cruising  about  them,  from  which  no  information 
can  be  gained.  You  may  judge  our  state  of  feeling,  shut  out 
from  the  world  in  this  small  Island,  with  only  occasional  news 
from  some  transient  vessel  passing.  It  needs  all  one's  phil- 
osophy to  bear  patiently  this  exile.  Again  I  am  in  need  of  an 
oculist  for  my  eye,  which  has  not  improved  at  all  since  I  left 
home,  and  although  the  sight,  which  was  but  a  haze  for  the 
last  year  or  two,  has  now  departed,  still  the  eye  remains  in- 
flamed and  pains  me  more  or  less  constantly,  and  I  therefore 
need  the  advice  of  a  skilful  oculist  which  is  not  to  be  had  here. 
The  Department  no  doubt  have  felt  their  error  in  ordering  us 
here,  which  Pickering  writes  me  must  have  been  caused  by 
their  not  receiving  his  letters,  as  he  has  informed  them  of 
the  state  of  the  Kearsarge.  My  chiefest  sorrow  is  that  the 
lost  time  could  not  have  been  spent  at  home,  which  Mr.  Dab- 
ney  says  was  necessary  for  my  health. 

"  It  is  true,  when  I  arrived  here  I  was  a  mere  shadow,  for 
the  disease  which  seized  hold  of  my  eye  on  the  Mississippi 


I02  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

River  only  developed  itself  afterwards  and  affected  my  whole 
system.  The  cold  which  I  took  before  I  left  home  settled  in 
my  lungs,  and  hung  on  for  six  weeks  after  I  arrived  here,  and 
I  cannot  foresee  how  long  it  will  be  before  the  inflammation 
leaves  my  eye. 

"Our  accounts  from  the  United  States  brought  up  to  the 
attack  on  the  blockading  squadron  off  Charleston  and  Galves- 
ton with  poor  William  Renshaw's  death  and  Mayhew  Wain- 
wright's,  also  the  sinking  of  the  Hatteras  by  the  Alabama. 
The  news  from  Vicksburg,  etc. 

"The  Alabama  endeavored  to  capture  the  ^s<?r,  remained 
waiting  for  her  for  some  time,  because  her  owner  Mr.  Dabney 
vi^ould  not  supply  the  Alabama  with  coal,  consequently  she  will 
have  no  mercy  shown  her  by  any  of  the  Confederate  cruisers." 

"  Fayal,  Aprils,  1863. 

*'  Again  I  am  compelled  to  write  without  informing  you  of 
the  news  of  the  Kearsarge.  Some  strange  fatality  attends  that 
vessel,  dozens  of  vessels  have  been  repaired  since  we  have  been 
here,  yet  the  Kearsarge  occupies  full  time  to  repair  them  all. 
You  can  form  little  idea  how  dreadfully  tired  we  are;  and  how 
slowly  the  time  passes.  It  is  literally  an  exile — nothing  to  do 
and  nothing  to  relieve  the  ennui.  I  am  utterly  dispirited.  A 
Portugese  man-of-war  has  just  arrived  herewith  the  news  that 
the  Alabama  was  at  Flores,  the  most  western  of  the  islands,  a 
fortnight  ago.  Thornton  supposes  the  Kearsarge  may  have 
learnt  of  it  and  gone  in  pursuit,  but  I  hardly  expect  this.  At 
length  the  signal  is  up  for  a  steamer,  and  at  last  the  Kearsarge 
has  come  in,  eleven  days  from  Cadiz." 

"  f/.  S.  S.  '  Kearsarge,'' 

"Fayal,  April 6,  iS6j. 

"  I  am  now  in  my  cabin  all  alone  on  board  the  Kearsarge. 
Pickering  was  relieved  to-day  and  went  on  shore.  I  have 
orders  to  keep  on  the  European  Coast,  touching  at  Madeira 
and  the  Azores,  and  for  the  next  two  months  I  shall  be  be- 
tween the  two  last.  I  have  been  so  sick  for  a  day  or  two  (the 
very  time  work  commences)  that  I  don't  know  when  I  have 
suffered  more  pain  ;  yesterday  I  had  pain  in  all  my  bones,  and 
the  neuralgia  in  my  eye  and  face  was  excruciating. 


Assignment  to  Command  Kearsarge.    103 

"  As  the  Alabama  was  reported  to  be  off  the  Western  Islands 
I  go  at  once  in  pursuit  of  her. 

"  Sick  again  to-day,  regular  Mississippi  chills  on  me — have 
just  taken  quinine." 

The  theatre  of  operations  upon  which  Winslow 
now  entered  was  a  vast  and  perplexing  one,  but 
within  it  his  judgment  was  supreme  ;  in  fact  he 
scarcely  got  a  single  communication  from  the  Navy 
Departm_ent  until  his  long  struggle  was  crowned 
with  success.  His  cruising  ground  was  thirteen 
hundred  miles  long.  It  was  bounded  on  the  east 
by  the  coasts  of  Europe  and  Africa  and  on  the 
west  by  his  discretion.  He  was  to  blockade,  cap- 
ture or  destroy  vessels  fitted  out  as  Confederate 
cruisers.  Of  these  he  knew  two,  the  Floi'ida  and 
the  Alabama,  to  be  on  the  high  seas  when  he  took 
command  of  the  Kearsarge,  and  that  a  third,  the 
Sumter,  had  been  laid  up  at  Gibraltar.  Others 
were  being  fitted  out  in  British  and  French  ports, 
but  of  these  he  knew  little  as  yet ;  in  fact  one,  the 
Georgia,  was  commissioned  off  Ushant  at  the  very 
time  he  was  assuming  his  command. 

Three  Confederate  cruisers,  then,  were  in  com- 
mission. Of  these  the  Florida  and  Alabama  had 
been  designed  as  warships,  the  latter  especially  to 
be  as  nearly  self-sustaining  on  the  high  seas  as  it 
was  possible  to  make  her,  while  the  Georgia  was  a 
converted  merchant  steamer,  formerly  the  Japati. 
All  had  batteries  throwing  a  broadside  of  about 
250  lbs. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


CRUISING    AROUND    THE    AZORES. 


A  STUDENT  of  the  movements  of  the  Kear- 
sarge  after  Winslow  assumed  command  soon 
discovers  two  distinct  periods  :  one  of  search  and 
one  of  blockade.  The  former  lasted  six  months, 
during  which  the  operations  were  confined  to  the 
southern  half  of  the  theatre  assigned,  cruising 
about  the  Azores  and  Madeira,  with  Cadiz  and 
Gibraltar  as  bases  of  repair  and  supply.  It  was 
hopeless  phantom-chasing,  almost  certain  to  be 
barren  of  results.  The  second  period  was  longer, 
and  the  scene  was  shifted  to  the  northern  half  of 
the  theatre,  with  always  a  concrete  object  in  view, 
— sometimes  too  many  of  them, — until  a  climax  of 
success  was  reached.  From  beginning  to  end  it 
was  a  gradual  self-education  to  Winslow  in  an  un- 
usual  problem  of  warfare.  It  was  quite  natural 
that  his  three-months'  sojourn  in  Fayal,  hearing 
incessant  rumors  of  suspicious-looking  steamers 
hovering  around  the  islands  and  of  munitions  and 
stores  landed,  should  have  magnified  the  import- 
ance of  that  corner  of  his  field.  Could  he  have 
studied    his   theatre    of    operations   at  some  place 


104 


Cruising  around  the  Azores.  105 

removed  from  the  influence  of  any  portion  of  it,  he 
would  probably  sooner  have  discovered  that  the 
Azores  as  a  cruising  ground  had  two  serious  draw- 
backs :  their  position  was  not  central  and  they  had 
no  regular  or  quick  means  of  communication  with 
other  points.  Coming  upon  the  scene  as  he  did, 
however,  we  are  quite  prepared  to  see  his  plan  of 
campaign  outlined,  as  in  the  following  letter: 

"  U.  S.  Steamer  '■JCearsarge,' 

"  Fayal,  April  8,  1863. 
*'  Pr.  Hor tense 

to  Boston. 
"  Sir, 

"I  have  the  honor  to  report  that  after  a  detention  at  this 
place  of  three  months  and  a  half,  I  have  this  day  in  obedience 
to  the  order  of  the  Department  relieved  Capt.  Pickering  in 
command  of  this  vessel. 

"  During  my  continuance  at  this  place,  and  particularly 
within  the  last  month,  I  have  noted  the  appearance  of  several 
suspicious  steamers,  which  without  affording  any  information 
of  their  character  have  cruised  from  Island  to  Island,  evi- 
dently in  search  of  consorts.  The  last  of  these  steamers,  a 
new  vessel  under  English  colors  and  deeply  laden,  ran  close 
into  this  harbor,  dipping  her  flag  three  times  ;  and  then  stood 
off  to  the  South'd  &  East'd. 

"  More  recently  information  has  been  received  that  a  steamer 
answering  in  every  particular  to  the  description  of  the  Ala- 
bama was  seen  off  Flores  on  the  22d  ult.  This  steamer  when 
last  seen  after  pursuing  and  speaking  a  barque  supposed  to  be 
English  stood  to  the  Eastward. 

"  From  these  circumstances  together  with  the  establish- 
ment of  late  of  coal  depots  at  Terceira  and  St.  Michael's  by 
Southern  sympathizers  it  may  be  inferred  that  the  enemy 
and  his  abettors  will  seek  these  points  for  supplies  during  the 
summer  months.  I  shall  therefore,  should  causes  of  more 
importance  not  arise  to  justify  a  modification,  cruise  about 


io6  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

these  Islands  and  Madeira,  touching  occasionally  at  Gibraltar 
and  Cadiz. 

"I  have  the  honor  to  be 

"  Your  very  Obedient  Servant, 

"  John  A.  Winslow,  Captain. 
"To  the 
"  Hon.  Gideon  Welles, 
^''Secretary  of  the  JVavy, 
"  Washington,  D.  C." 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  Alabama  was  burning- 
vessels  on  the  equator  near  the  coast  of  Brazil,  and 
the  Florida  was  in  the  neighborhood  of  Barba- 
does.  Eventually,  however,  Winslow  was  cruising 
right  athwart  the  path  of  the  newly  commissioned 
Georgia,  bound  for  the  same  general  locality.  She 
passed  through  the  Azores,  undetected,  about  the 
middle  of  April. 

.    "  £/.  .S".  S.  '  Kearsarge,' 

"  Terceira,  Azores, 
"  April  2^,  i86j. 
"  Some  fifteen  days  have  elapsed  since  we  first  left  Fayal, 
and  I  have  been  cruising  about  these  Islands,  stopping  at  one 
and  the  other.  Some  four  days  since  we  went  into  Fayal 
without  anchoring,  and  after  practising  shooting  our  batteries, 
etc.,  went  to  sea  again.  I  found  the  St.  Louis  at  Fayal  com- 
manded by  Commander  Marin.'  I  have  called  on  the  civil 
Governor  of  this  Island,  a  viscount,  a  young  man  of  twenty- 
three  ;  and  the  military  Governor,  a  man  of  seventy-five,  a 
Baron  and  Marechal  of  the  Empire,  covered  with  orders  ;  from 
both  I  received  the  greatest  courtesies.  The  people  are  re- 
markably hospitable,  they  gave  us  a  ball,  at  which  I  hardly 
expected  to  be  present,  for  about  half  past  one  in  the  after- 
noon a  steamer  hove  in  sight,  off  the  Island,  answering  in  ap- 
pearance to  the  Alabama.  She  was  hull  down  and  sailing  and 
steaming  fast.  In  seventeen  minutes  our  boats  were  all  in, 
'  Commander  George  Henry  Preble  subsequently  relieved  Marin. 


Cruising  around  the  Azores.  107 

anchor  up,  and  we  were  after  her,  the  heights  covered  with 
people  to  see  our  movements,  we  chased  her  nearly  seven 
hours  at  the  rate  of  twelve  knots  and  over.  At  dark  we  were 
within  three  miles  of  her,  having  gained  upon  her  about  eight 
knots,  but  night  coming  on  we  lost  her.  It  was  not  the  Ala- 
bama or  Ovieto.'  She  showed  English  colors,  and  I  think  she 
was  a  West  India  mail  steamer." 

The  ship  chased  may  have  been  the  Georgia. 

^'  (J.  S.  S.  ^R'earsarge,' 

"Fayal,  April  27,  1863. 

"  From  the  English  Mail  Steamer  at  Terceira,  I  got  some 
English  illustrated  newspapers,  and  saw  accounts  of  the  con- 
fiscation of  two  more  Alabamas,  built  for  the  Confederates  by 
the  English  Government.  I  was  glad  to  see  some  steps  taken, 
however  late  it  was.  I  see  that  Farragut's  fleet  has  joined  the 
Mississippi  Flotilla,  and  that  the  Mississippi  Steamer,  Capt. 
Melancthon  Smith,  had  been  sunk  by  the  batteries  —  but  the 
details  of  news  are  very  meagre.  Charleston  had  not  been  at- 
tacked, and  Banks  was  in  the  rear  of  Port  Hudson. 

"  I  have  been  cruising  round  these  Islands  for  a  fortnight, 
so  after  coaling  I  shall  leave  for  Madeira,  and  thence  to  Gib- 
raltar and  Cadiz. 

"  Mr.  Dabney  handed  me  a  letter  from  the  Consul  at  Liver- 
pool, just  received  by  the  English  steamer,  with  accounts  that 
several  vessels  are  fitting  out,  supposed  to  be  privateers,  among 
them  the  Sumter. 

"When  I  left  here  I  had  a  regular  attack  of  intermittent  fe- 
ver, which  was  nothing  more  than  the  malaria  of  the  Missis- 
sippi still  remaining  in  my  system.  My  eye  does  not  improve, 
although  I  have  been  under  treatment  for  it  from  several  doc- 
tors— and  though  I  have  been  at  times  so  reduced  from  the 
action  of  medicine  and  abstinence,  yet  the  inflammation  does 
not  seem  to  decrease,  and  I  look  now  like  some  old,  blind 
horse — a  deep  red  and  purple  color  around  the  iris  — and  the 
suffering  intense.  ...  I  shall  go  to  Cadiz  (for  provisions) 
via  Gibraltar,  and  after  stopping  at  Madeira,  etc.,  probably 

'  Florida. 


io8  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

return  here.  But  should  I  receive  any  information  of  the  Con- 
federate cruisers,  after  I  get  to  Cadiz,  I  shall  follow  them 
either  in  the  Mediterranean  or  along  the  European  Coast,  but 
I  shall  keep  clear  of  English  ports,  as  (by  the  orders  of  the 
Ministry)  we  cannot  remain  in  any  one  of  them  longer  than 
twenty-four  hours.  On  entering  an  English  port,  we  are  im- 
mediately waited  on  by  the  Naval  Officer  with  the  proclama- 
tion of  the  Queen,  warning  us  to  quit  after  twenty-four  hours, 
unless  repairs  are  required,  when  orders  are  given  to  hasten 
them,  and  to  be  off  as  soon  as  completed.  This  is  English 
neutrality  for  belligerents.  The  Confederates  manage  to  remain 
as  long  as  they  choose. 

"  Our  countrymen  are  in  total  ignorance  of  the  treatment 
American  men-of-war  meet  with  in  English  ports,  and  Presi- 
dent Lincoln  should  forbid  our  ports  to  English  vessels  of  war, 
except  under  the  same  conditions.  John  Quincy  Adams 
would  have  acted  at  once  with  a  proclamation  meeting  the 
case. 

"On  entering  the  Bay  of  Gibraltar,  I  shall  proceed  over  to 
the  Spanish  side,  lying  at  Algeciras. 

"  I  continue  my  old  practice  of  reading  prayers  to  the  crew 
on  Sundays  ;  and  addressing  them  afterwards  in  explanation. 
They  seem  always  to  look  forward  to  Sundays  with  interest, 
assembling  themselves  without  being  ordered.  They  have 
never  heard  prayers  on  the  Kearsarge  before.  I  have  ex- 
tended to  them  all  privileges,  shown  them  an  activity  and 
given  them  a  confidence  in  my  movements  and  character, 
which  they  know  will  be  exhibited  in  the  hour  of  requisition. 
There  is  a  minstrel  party  on  board  and  I  believe  they  are  to 
have  an  entertainment  on  shore.  An  application  was  made  to 
me  to  that  effect,  and  I  consented  that  the  trial  might  be 
made — a  repetition  of  which  would  depend  on  their  conduct. 

"  The  St.  Louis.,  Commander  Marin,  sailed  yesterday,  I  told 
him  to  go  off  Terceira  and  St.  Michael's." 

"  Rebeira,  Quante  Islands, 

"St.  Michael's,  May  14,  1863. 
"  We  remained  ten  days,  after  the  regular  mail  steamer  left 
(a  fortnight  ago),  at  Fayal,  where  we  were  employed  putting 


Cruising  around  the  Azores.  109 

on  a  cuirass,  or  rather  plating  our  vessel  for  some  thirty  feet 
each  side,  to  protect  our  machinery.  This  plating  consists  of 
our  heavy  chains,  suspended  close  together,  which  are  hung  to 
the  sides  of  the  vessel,  and  makes  a  complete  armor  for  pro- 
tection against  shot,  etc.  As  soon  as  this  was  completed,  we 
sailed,  cruising  to  the  northward,  and  going  into  Terceira,  I 
learned  that  the  very  day  after  we  had  left  that  island  two 
blockade  runners,  the  Sinus  and  Orion,  side-wheel  steamers 
had  come  in,  coaled  and  sailed  for  Nassau.  It  was  a  disap- 
pointment to  know  we  had  been  cruising  about,  stopped  into 
Terceira  three  times  before  and  the  rogues  had  come  in  just 
after  our  departure.  However,  we  had  no  time  to  consider, 
and  after  twelve  hours  delay  we  left  for  Point  Delgada,  the 
city  of  the  St.  Michael's  Island.  Early  the  next  morning,  I 
was  aroused  by  the  report  that  a  steamer  was  in  sight,  I  gave 
orders  to  get  underway,  and  shortly  after,  an  English  man-of- 
war  steamer  came  in.  I  thought  I  would  speak  him,  but  the 
fellow  was  so  uncivil  about  our  movements,  I  concluded  not 
to  do  so  or  pay  him  any  compliment,  so,  after  wasting  some 
five  hours,  I  resolved  not  to  come  to  anchor  again,  but  came 
down  to  this  place." 

"  Delgada,  May  ijth. 
"  Just  arrived  here,  and  news  comes  that  steamers  are  off 
Terceira  ;  I  knew  they  were  the  Kearsarge  and  a  Belgian 
steamer,  which  the  people  magnify  into  Confederates,  but  I 
must  be  off,  lest  my  hypothesis  be  untrue,  and  consequently 
I  have  no  time  to  write  a  longer  letter.  English  news  comes 
to  us  that  the  Alabama  was  to  the  South,  March  25th,  burning 
vessels,  and  also  that  the  Virginia  (another  Alabama)  was  out. 
The  news  too  of  the  failure  of  the  ironclads  at  Charleston  has 
reached  us  ;— the  news  altogether  unsatisfactory — so  that  the 
war  must  be  prolonged.  I  shall  now  sail  for  Terceira  and 
Fayal,  and  if  the  reports  prove  untrue,  which  I  almost  know 
them  to  be,  I  shall  leave  immediately  for  Madeira,  and  from 
there,  after  a  day  or  two,  if  nothing  occurs  to  prevent,  sail  for 
Gibraltar  and  Cadiz  for  provisions  ;  we  have  now  only  fifteen 
days*  supply  on  board." 


no  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

"On  mv  way  to  Gibraltar, 

^^  U.  S.  S.  ^ Kearsarge' , 

"  May  26,  1863. 

"  After  closing  out  my  last  letter  we  went  back  to  Terceira, 
examined  all  the  harbors  to  the  north,  and  found  the  report 
of  the  Alabama  burning  vessels,  etc.,  '  a  cock  and  bull  story,' 
and  that  we  were  '  sold  ';  so  bore  up  for  Fayal  for  coal,  and  off 
again  for  Madeira,  where  we  arrived  four  days  after — found  no 
Alabama^  no  blockade  runner  had  been  in  for  five  weeks,  and 
after  four  days  we  left  again  on  our  present  road  to  Cadiz,  via 
Gibraltar,  to  get  something  to  eat,  for  we  provision  there. 

"  Nothing  can  be  more  beautiful  than  cruising  in  these  lati- 
tudes during  these  present  months.  The  stormy  winter  has 
passed  away,  and  whenever  you  approach  land,  a  beautiful 
country  opens  to  view  with  fine  picturesque  and  mountainous 
scenery." 

"  f/.  S,  S.  ''  Kearsarge\ 

"  Algeciras  (opposite  Gibraltar), 

''  May  27,  1863. 

"  We  have  just  entered  the  Straits  of  Gibraltar,  after  steam- 
ing most  of  the  day,  twelve  knots,  we  passed  a  French  iron- 
clad frigate  under  steam,  as  if  she  had  been  at  anchor. 

"  I  have  just  got  the  news  of  the  defeat  of  Hooker,  and  the 
terrible  battle  ; — it  has  cast  a  sombre  hue  over  everyone. 
What  is  to  be  the  result  ?  The  English  are  in  ecstasies. 
I  see  by  the  papers  that  the  Alabama  and  Florida  have  made 
a  junction,  and  are  burning  vessels  off  Pernambuco.  To- 
morrow we  leave  for  Cadiz,  for  provisions  and  a  few  repairs, 
which  a  steamer  is  always  wanting,  when  I  shall  again  leave 
for  the  Islands.  I  can  hear  nothing  of  the  Virginia^  which 
got  out  of  England  some  six  weeks  since.  The  English  papers 
mention  Captain  Bullock,  as  having  gone  to  the  Clyde  to  take 
command  of  another  Alabama,  superior  to  the  old  one." 

"  Cadiz,  Jime  6,  1S63. 
"  We  arrived  here  about  six  days  ago, — came  here  for  pro- 
visions— but   as   they  put   something   on   the  bottom  of   the 
vessel  which  acts  like  manure  on  land,  a  fungus  of  seaweed 
has  grown  to  such  an  extent  as  to  impede  her  sailing.     I  am 


Cruising  around  the  Azores.  1 1 1 

therefore  going  to  take  the  Kearsarge  in  dock  for  a  day  to 
scrape  her,  which  will  keep  us  here  longer  than  I  hoped.  I 
have  no  orders  from  the  Department.  I  got  some  letters  from 
our  consul  at  Liverpool,  about  vessels  said  to  be  privateers,  but 
nothing  that  determined  me  to  change  the  cruising  ground 
from  Madeira  and  Azores,  etc." 

On  the  1 8th  of  June,  at  Cadiz,  Winslow  learned 
from  EngHsh  papers  that  the  Georgia  had  been 
spoken  near  the  equator  a  few  weeks  before. 

"  Gibraltar,  Jime  ig,  iS6j. 

"  I  left  Cadiz  yesterday,  arrived  here  this  morning — by 
order  of  the  English  Minister  I  cannot  stay  here  more  than 
twenty-four  hours,  and  I  dont  want  to,  but  I  must  have  money 
and  small  stores.     I  sail  to-night  for  Madeira." 

"  Town,  Santa  Cruz, 

"  Teneriffe,  July  /,  i86j. 

"  After  leaving  Gibraltar  we  arrived  at  Madeira  in  three 
days  passage  ;  I  found  there  a  small  English  steamer,  which  I 
judged  might  be  a  blockade  runner  ;  she  got  underway  four 
hours  after  our  arrival,  and  after  she  had  got  off  the  coast 
some  four  miles  we  got  underway,  stood  after,  overtook,  and 
searched  her  ;  but  there  was  nothing  in  her  to  condemn  her, 
so  we  left  her  ;  and  stood  to  the  northward  and  eastward, 
where  for  a  week  I  continued  cruising  and  exercising  the 
men,  near  a  small  island.  We  then  again  ran  down  for 
Madeira.  The  Consul  came  on  board  with  a  letter  from  our 
Consul  at  Teneriffe,  Mr.  Dabney,  brother  of  the  Fayal  Dab- 
ney.  He  informed  me  that  a  privateer  was  down  at  Teneriffe, 
a  sidewheel  steamer,  so  although  it  was  not  in  my  cruising 
ground,  I  determined  to  run  down  at  once,  and  left  after  three 
hours  detention.  In  neither  of  the  stops  I  made  at  Madeira 
did  I  have  time  to  go  on  shore  :  I  was  not  there  longer  than 
four  hours  either  time.  I  left  Madeira  yesterday  at  two 
o'clock  for  Teneriffe — 260  miles — and  the  land  is  in  sight. 
I  have  had  another  attack  of  chills  and  fever,  but  am  better, 
and  my  eye  which  was  very  much  inflamed,  looks  better  than 
it  has  done  yet — but  I  have  to   take  an  immense  quantity  of 


112  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

quinine,  the  only  thing  which  my  system  improves  under,  and 
the  eye  grows  better.  The  Doctor  said  at  first,  the  disease  of 
yours  is  malaria,  and  time  and  quinine  are  the  only  remedies. 
The  vision  of  my  right  eye  is  gone. 

"  The  Captain  of  an  English  frigate  who  took  lunch  with 
me  yesterday  on  board,  told  me  his  friend  Grattan  was  Con- 
sul at  Teneriffe,  begged  me  to  call  upon  him  for  his  sake,  I 
promised  I  would,  since  he  said  he  was  the  Boston  Grattan, 
formerly  consul  there,  so,  I  shall,  to  please  one  fine  English- 
man— I  must  do  the  English  Officers  the  credit  to  say  they 
are  all  liberal,  and  wish  we  would  catch  all  the  blockade 
runners. 

''  2  o'clock  p.m.  We  have  just  arrived  and  find  a  privateer 
here.  Astern  of  us  is  the  English  mail  steamer,  ready  to 
start,  by  which  I  hope  to  send  this  letter.  After  remaining 
here  a  day  or  two,  I  leave  for  Madeira  and  the  Azores,  and  in 
twelve  days  hope  to  be  in  Fayal,  but  there  are  a  great  many 
places  to  go  first." 

"  f/.  5.  S.  'Kearsarge,'' 

"  Terceira,  July  jo,  i86j. 

"An  American  schooner  has  just  arrived,  bringing  news  of 
the  defeat  of  Lee's  army,  and  the  capture  of  Vicksburg. 
These  accounts  are  cheering  and  I  am  glad  to  find  some  little 
hope  beaming  at  last.  On  the  17th  inst.,  a  blockade  runner, 
the  yuno,  came  into  Fayal  for  coal,  but  as  she  could  get  none 
sailed  suddenly,  and  we  followed  her  at  once  ;  but  our  anchor 
getting  under  us,  and  the  journals  getting  hot,  we  could  not 
catch  her.     She  went  into  Angra  ahead  of  us. 

"  Four  days  afterwards — after  coaling,  she  again  went  to 
sea  and  we  after  her — this  time  we  were  all  right  ;  the  Kear- 
sarge  going  thirteen  knots,  she  tried  all  she  could  to  dodge  us, 
going  around  the  island  and  keeping  close  to  land,  knowing 
we  could  not  fire  at  her,  as  she  was  in  neutral  waters.  When 
she  got  to  the  northward  of  the  island,  she  steamed  off  the 
land,  and  I  then  took  possession  of  her  and  stood  back 
towards  Fayal,  overhauling  her  cargo.  After  a  day's  examina- 
tion, found  nothing  that  I  could  condemn  her  for,  and  let  her  go. 

"  I  learned  afterwards  they  burned  all   their  letters.     The 


Cruising  around  the  Azores.  113 

English  consuls  are  making  a  great  fuss,  but  I  dont  care  a 
penny.  I  have  reported  all  the  circumstances  to  the  Secretary 
of  the  Navy. 

"  The  yuno  being  a  fourteen  knot  steamer,  I  was  afraid  she 
would  escape  and  I  slipt  my  chain  here,  to  pursue  her  quickly. 
On  our  return,  I  find  that  they  have  cut  our  buoy-rope  and 
we  are  detained  dragging  for  the  anchor. 

"The  Portugese  here  say  that  the  English  Consul  is  at  the 
bottom  of  this  ;  angry  for  our  catching  the  yuno.  When  we 
left  here,  in  pursuit  of  her,  the  hills  were  covered  with  people. 

"  The  yutw  brought  late  papers  from  England,  and  I  saw- 
that  Foote  was  dead,  and  Dahlgren  appointed  in  Du  Font's 
place. 

"  July  31st.  We  succeeded  in  getting  our  anchor  and  are 
now  at  Fayal.  An  English  war  steamer  is  here  for  coal, 
bound  to  England,  and  I  shall  send  this  letter  by  her." 

"  U.  S.  S.  'ICearsarge,' 

"Angra,  Terceira, 

"Aug,  6,  1863. 

"  Since  I  wrote  you,  four  days  since,  we  have  been  lying  at 
Fayal  overhauling  things.  I  informed  you  of  our  chase  and 
capture  of  the  yuno  and  the  disfavor  we  have  grown  into  by 
the  act.  At  Fayal  an  order  was  issued  that  no  signals  for 
vessels  should  be  made,  while  we  laid  in  port.  We  are  going 
down  to  Terceira  to  put  despatches  on  board  the  American 
vessel,  which  gave  us  the  news  of  the  fall  of  Vicksburg,  etc. — 
she  goes  to  Sidney,  Nova  Scotia. 

"  After  this  I  am  going  to  cruise  among  the  islands.   .    .   . 

"Yesterday  we  got  news  from  the  United  States  to  the  14th 
with  accounts  of  the  New  York  riot  and  dates  to  that  time  of 
Army  movements.  We  are  now  under  sail,  going  down  to 
Terceira,  no  steam,  it  is  blowing  a  gale.  I  was  on  a  cruise, 
but  I  think  I  shall  go  in  and  lay  at  Angra  until  the  wind  sub- 
sides ;  only  there  are  no  harbors  around  these  islands,  and 
you  have  to  get  under  the  lee,  if  the  wind  chops  round  it 
brings  in  a  terrible  sea,  and  ships  lay  with  several  anchors 
ahead.  I  judge  from  appearances  that  the  South  are  nearly 
exhausted,  and  the  war  cannot  last  much  longer.     I  see  they 


114  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

were  about  attacking  Charleston   again.      I   hope  they  may 
succeed." 

"  U.  S.  S.  ^Kearsarge,^ 

"  Fayal,  Aug  II,  1863. 

"  I  went  down  to  Terceira,  last  week  on  a  cruise,  and  placed 
letters  for  you  and  the  Department  on  board  a  schooner, 
bound  to  Sidney,  Nova  Scotia.  On  my  return  to  the  west- 
ward it  was  blowing  a  gale,  to  avoid  which  we  came  into 
Fayal  and  found  the  Hortense  just  arrived  with  news  of  the 
capture  of  Port  Hudson,  the  attack  on  Morris  Island  and 
other  news  which,  in  spite  of  mobs,  is  very  favorable.  I  am 
only  in  hopes  that  the  end  of  the  war  is  approaching  more 
rapidly  than  things  warranted  two  months  ago. 

"  We  are  going  to  sea  to-night,  cruise  around  the  Islands  ; 
stop  at  St.  Michael's,  return  here  about  the  29th,  sail  for 
Madeira  and  Cadiz,  to  arrive  there  about  the  20th  of  Sep- 
tember. 

"The  Portugese  about  these  Islands,  influenced  by  the 
English,  are  making  a  great  ado  about  neutrality,  because  they 
find  I  will  overtake  and  examine  English  steamers. 

"We  have  the  reputation  here  and  at  Madeira  of  being  very 
fast  and  steamers  arriving  in  any  of  the  ports  make  every 
despatch  to  sail  before  we  hear  of  them.  Our  ship  continues 
a  very  happy  one  and  I  am  satisfied  that  all  on  board  will 
endorse  the  letter  which  was  sent  to  me  by  the  officers  of  the 
Baron  de  Kalb. 

"  My  course  on  Sunday  is  always  to  read  the  service  and 
address  the  attendants.  This,  with  tact  in  ruling  and  making 
everyone  comfortable,  is  imparting  implicit  confidence  in  me, 
in  both  officers  and  crew,  of  the  pleasantest  character  (in  the 
belief  that  I  will  do  what  can  be  done,  as  far  as  courage  and 
ability  are  concerned)." 

By  this  time  Winslow  was  beginning  to  realize 
that,  for  his  purposes,  his  cruising  ground  was  ill 
chosen,  and  news  of  the  appearance  of  the  Florida 
in  the  Irish  Channel  quickened  his  determination 
to  change  it. 


Cruising  around  the  Azores.    '      115 

"  U.  S.  S.  ' A'rarsarg'e,' 

"  Fayal,  Aug.  27,  1863. 
"  By  H.  B.  M.,  Gunboat '  Wrangle' 

to  F.fig. 
"  Sir  : 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  inform  the  Department  that  since 
the  arrival  of  the  Kearsarge  on  the  loth  ult.  I  have  con- 
tinued active  cruising  about  these  Islands,  without  meeting 
any  of  the  rebel  privateers. 

"  The  nearest  approach  of  any  of  them,  we  have  news  of, 
being  the  Florida,  which  vessel,  on  the  15th  July,  was  seven 
hundred  miles  South  West  of  Fayal. 

"  I  learn  however  that  the  privateers  were  well  acquainted 
with  our  cruising  grounds,  and,  it  may  be  owing  to  this  cir- 
cumstance, that  the  Islands  have  not  been  revisited  by  them. 
"Our  provisions  having  been  nearly  consumed,  I  shall  pro- 
ceed in  a  few  days  (after  the  arrival  of  the  Mail  Steamer)  to 
Cadiz,  by  Avay  of  Madeira,  to  replenish  them. 
"  Very  respectfully, 

"  Your  obedient  servant, 

*'  Jno.  a.  Winslow,  Captain. 
"  To  the 

"  Hon.  Gideon  Welles, 
'*  Secretary  of  the  Navy, 

"Washington,  D.  C." 
"  Per  mail  this  day. 

"  i/,  S.  S.  ''Kearsarge* 

"  Ferrol,  Sept.  /J,  1863. 

"Sir: 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  report  that  on  the  arrival  of  the 
Kearsarge  at  Madeira,  from  the  Western  Islands,  the  7th  inst., 
information  having  been  received  of  the  appearance  of  the 
Florida  in  the  Irish  Channel,  I  immediately  left  for  that  des- 
tination. I  regret  however  to  inform  the  Department  that  a 
continual  heavy  wind  from  the  north  and  eastward  has  re- 
tarded our  passage,  and  compelled  me  to  put  into  this  port 
for  coals, 

"  Our  detention  here  will  not  be  over  twenty-four  hours. 


ii6 


John  Ancrum  Winslow. 


when  I  shall  proceed  with  all  despatch  in  hopes  of  falling  in 
with  the  Florida,  before  advices  of  our  movements  have  been 
received. 

"  Very  respectfully, 

"  Your  obedient  servant, 

*'  Jno.  a.  Winslow,  Captain. 
"  To  the 

"  Hon.  Gideon  Welles, 
"  Secretary  of  the  Navy, 

"Washington,  D.  C." 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

BLOCKADING    THE    FLORIDA. 

1H  AVE  said  that  Winslow's  choice  of  the  Azores 
as  his  cruising  ground  was  a  strategic  error. 
The  Confederate  cruisers  were  fitted  out  by  agents 
in  British  and  French  ports.  When  they  left  these 
ports  they  were  lost  upon  the  trackless  ocean,  and 
finding  them  upon  it  could  be  only  the  rarest  good 
luck.  Since,  however,  they  could  not  enter  their 
country's  ports,  they  were  almost  certain,  in  the 
long  run,  through  some  extreme  need,  to  return  to 
the  agents  who  had  despatched  them.  Only  on 
that  contingency  could  there  be  based  any  well- 
founded  chance  to  intercept  them.  Moreover,  any 
provision  for  meeting  them  in  that  way  was  equally 
good  for  intercepting  others  newly  fitted  out,  while 
the  locality  watched  would  be  in  touch  with  the 
news  channels  of  the  world.  It  is  true  that  more 
than  one  of  the  Confederate  cruisers  had  visited 
the  Azores  in  search  of  United  States  whalers,  but 
self-preservation  kept  them  continually  seeking 
new  fields,  and  they  seldom  revisited  old  ones. 

It  might  be  argued,   on   the    other   hand,   that 
Winslow    lost    nothing    by    his    stay   among    the 

117 


ii8  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

islands,  and  that  he  ran  some  chance  of  catching 
the  Georgia  as  she  passed  them,  but  had  he  sailed 
at  once  for  the  English  Channel  after  taking  com- 
mand, he  would  have  stood  just  as  good  a  chance 
of  meeting  her  as  she  ran  down,  and  he  would  have 
been  on  the  scene  when  the  Florida  made  her 
appearance. 

Let  us  look  now  at  a  map  of  Western  Europe, 
and  study  the  problem  that  presented  itself  to 
Winslow  when  he  arrived  from  the  Azores.  The 
conditions,  all  of  which  he  soon  learned  from  United 
States  consuls  and  agents,  were  as  follows  : 

Two  rams  and  two  corvettes  were  building  at 
.Bordeaux. 

Two  corvettes  were  building-  at  Nantes. 

Two  rams  were  building  at  Liverpool. 

The  cruiser  Rappahaniiock  was  fitting  out  in  the 
Thames. 

The  Florida  was  repairing  at  Brest. 

The  Alabama  and  Georgia  were  at  large,  and 
must  ultimately  seek  British  or  French  ports,  com- 
ing up,  most  likely,  from  the  southwestward. 

The  Kearsarge  must  take  some  central  position 
from  which  she  can  make  the  straightest  and  short- 
est possible  dash  at  any  one  of  her  adversaries,  and 
at  the  same  time  be  near  a  coal  pile  and  a  repair 
base.  Coal  she  could  get  from  Cardiff  by  shipment 
in  colliers,  but  Southern  partisanship  made  it  im- 
possible for  her  to  get  adequate  repairs  in  England 
or  France,  so  a  dock-yard,  when  needed,  must  be 
sought  in  Spain. 

With  these  conditions,  and  the  map  before  us,  it 


Queen. 


%  Confederate  vessels  bailding 
or  fitting  out-. 

%  f^earaarge's    atation  fof 

nhservation   and.  tjlocka-ie. 


CO  9f 

*0  Azores   e 


J^ea.r»a,rge'3  source*  of  suppiy 
are  in  bitt^. 


KEARSARQE'S  THEATRE  OF  OPERATIONS 


Blockading  the  Florida.  119 

does  not  take  long  to  find  the  key  to  the  solution 
of  the  problem, — Brest.  Winslow  himself  writes 
to  Minister  Dayton  six  weeks  later:  "You  will 
perceive  from  (its)  position,  that  Brest  is  the  best 
point  for  intercepting  Confederate  vessels  in  the 
Channel  ;  but  it  is  necessary  that  I  should  be  im- 
mediately informed  of  their  departure,  by  Consular 
Agents."  He  had  studied  his  problem,  and  had 
found  the  strategic  key  to  its  solution,  but  he  still 
had  before  him  many  months  of  disheartening  trials 
and  bitter  disappointments  before  he  attained  a  de- 
cisive result. 

Per  mailfrotn  this  place  "  U.  S.  S.  'Kearsarge,'' 

the  igth  day  of  Sept.  "  Brest,  France, 

"  Sept.  18,  1863. 
"  Sir  : 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  report  the  arrival  of  the  Kearsarge  at 
this  port,  after  a  passage  of  forty  hours  from  Ferrol,  Spain. 

"  Subsequent  to  my  despatch  from  Ferrol  to  the  Department, 
I  received  information  that  the  Florida  had  put  into  Brest. 

"  This  information  determined  my  movements,  and  on  reach- 
ing this  port  I  found  the  Florida  in  dock  undergoing  repairs. 

"  The  customary  civilities  having  been  extended,  I  waited 
upon  the  Admiral  in  command,  with  a  view  of  ascertaining  the 
state  of  feeling  existing,  as  also  the  character  in  which  the 
Florida  was  held. 

"  My  reception  was  cordial,  and  the  Admiral  remarked  that 
whatever  his  personal  feelings  were  they  could  not  be  con- 
sidered, that  instructions  had  been  given  to  accord  to  the 
Florida  the  rights  of  a  belligerent,  and  as  such  the  repairs  ne- 
cessary to  equip  her  for  sea  service  had  been  directed,  but  that 
no  furniture  of  armament  or  munitions  of  war  would  be  permit- 
ted. I  was  further  notified  that  the  established  rule  which  must 
not  be  violated,  was  that  no  two  vessels  of  belligerent  parties 
could  leave  the  port  together,  that  one  must  precede  the  other 
twenty-four  hours  in  advance  before  she  could  be  followed. 


I20  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

"  I  enclose  one  or  two  slips  cut  from  the  Nord  paper,  pub- 
lished in  Paris  on  the  15th  inst.  The  Department  will  see 
a  reference  to  claims  made  on  the  Florida,  for  forcibly  putting 
prisoners  of  war  on  board  two  French  merchant  vessels,  and 
the  possible  seizure  of  this  vessel. 

"  Reference  is  also  made  to  seventy-five  men  who  left  the 
Florida,  for  Cardiff,  as  also  the  possible  appearance  of  the 
Alabama  at  Cherbourg. 

"  The  report  that  the  men  left  the  Florida  for  some  other 
vessel  receives  some  strength  from  the  fact  that  Captain 
Maffitt  has  been  relieved  in  command,  and  has  left  Brest. 
The  name  of  the  new  Commander  I  have  not  as  yet  learned. 

"  I  would  beg  leave  to  call  the  attention  of  the  Department 
to  this  port,  which  has  evidently  been  selected  by  Captain 
Maffitt,  from  the  difficulty  of  blockade.  The  entrance  to  the 
port  is  lined  on  either  side  with  reefs  of  rocks  which  on  the 
southern  side  extend  fifteen  miles  seaward,  and  on  the  northern 
side  a  farther  distance.  On  either  side  both  north  and  south 
a  channel  runs  close  along  the  land  ;  these  with  the  main  en- 
trance making  three  passages  of  egress,  all  of  which  should  be 
blockaded. 

"  From  the  information  that  has  reached  me,  I  judge  that 
two  weeks  will  elapse  before  the  Florida  can  leave  dock. 

"  I  shall  provision,  and  before  she  is  ready  to  leave,  take  my 
station  outside  to  intercept  her.     I  have  the  honor  to  be 
"  Very  respectfully, 

"  Your  obedient  servant, 

"  J  NO.  A.  Winslow,  Captain. 
"  To  the 

"  Hon.  Gideon  Welles, 
"  Secretary  of  the  Navy, 

"  Washington,  D.  C." 

"  £A.  S.  S.  '■  Kearsarge,^ 

"  Off  Brest,  France, 

"  Oct.  6,  1 86s. 
"  Today  we  have  news  of  the  check  of  Rosecrans,  which  I 
was  so  sorry  to  learn  ;  and  the  Confederate  officers,  we  meet  on 
shore,  though  there  is  no  communication  between  us,  appear 


Blockading  the  Florida.  121 

jubilant.  We  have  to  take  all  the  care  in  the  Avorld  to  prevent 
our  men  and  the  Florida  s  meeting  ;  one  or  two  scuffles  have 
taken  place  and  stabbing  followed.  The  Florida's  men  live 
on  shore,  and  therefore  seize  the  chance  when  a  few  of  our 
men  are  about,  to  pounce  upon  them.  I  have  communicated 
■with  the  Government  officials,  and  am  convinced  that  the  Ad- 
miral is  trying  to  do  what  is  best  to  procure  neutrality.  The 
Florida  is  alongside  the  quay  near  the  basin  now,  but  she  may 
come  out  in  a  few  days,  and  if  her  men  do  not  respect  neu- 
trality, I  will  board  her  and  burn  her  in  port.  If  they  can't 
•vkeep  their  robbers  in  order,  or  the  French  Government  do  not, 
why  the  blame  must  be  on  their  shoulders." 

The  following  letter,  pretty  broadly  hinting  at 
the  possible  turn  of  events,  probably  gave  a  quietus 
to  the  misconduct  of  the  Florida  s  crew  : 

"  i/.  S.  S.  ''  Kearsarge' 
"  Brest,  France, 
"  Sept.  21,  i86j. 

"  Monsieur  Le  Comte  : 

"  My  duty  involves  upon  me  necessity  of  instituting  a  com- 
plaint against  the  crew  of  the  Florida.  This  vessel,  lying  im- 
mediately near  the  landing,  has  been  manned  with  a  reckless 
set  of  men,  whose  sole  object  in  joining  her  has  been  priva- 
teering and  piracy,  and  such  is  the  want  of  discipline  that  the 
crew  either  are  permitted,  or  without  permission,  go  on  shore 
nightly  and  pursue  their  carousals, 

"  Last  night  a  body  of  these  men  made  an  attack  upon  a 
small  boat's  crew  belonging  to  the  Kearsarge,  when  the  crew 
of  the  Kearsarge  boat,  obeying  the  orders  which  had  been 
strictly  given,  in  no  manner  to  offer,  but  to  avoid  all  offenses, 
shoved  their  boat  off  from  the  landing  and  laid  upon  their  oars. 

"  I  was  a  witness  myself,  before  knowing  of  any  difficulty  ex- 
isting, of  large  stones  thrown  at  the  boat. 

"  This  conduct  by  want  of  government  of  the  Florida  s  xa^xx, 
you  must  know.  Monsieur  Le  Comte,  will  lead  to  serious  con- 
sequences, in  which  the  neutrality  may  be  violated,  if  steps  are 
not  taken  by  the  authorities  of  the  port  to  arrest  proceedings 


122  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

and  place  the  crew  of  the  Florida  under  such   restrictions 
as  will  prevent  a  renewal  of  these  offenses. 
"  I  have  the  honor  to  be 
**  Very  respectfully, 

"  Your  obedient  servant, 

"  Jno.  a.  Winslow,  Captain. 
*'  To  Monsieur  Le  Comte 

DE  GUEYDON, 

"  Vis  Admiral  Prefet  Maritime 
de  r  Arrondissement." 

"  U,  S,  S.  'Kear surge,'' 
"Brest,  France, 
"  Oct.  2j,  i86j. 

"  The  Florida  will  be  repairing  a  month  or  more.  I  have  no 
information  from  the  Department.  Many  questions  were 
raised  upon  points  in  the  jfrnids  capture.  The  Department 
will  not  answer  one,  but  goes  on  the  rule — give  no  orders,  take 
no  responsibility.  If  the  Commander  of  a  vessel  succeeds,  all 
is  well  ;  if  not,  make  him  responsible.  In  fact,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  a  letter  detaching  Dr.  R.  today,  I  have  not  received  a 
letter  from  the  Navy  Department  since  I  joined  the  ship.  I 
wrote  earnestly  to  the  Department  for  ships  to  blockade  the 
three  channels  into  Brest.  Department  wont  reply.  Our 
minister  from  Paris  writes  me  that  Mr.  Seward  informs  him, 
the  decision  in  the  cabinet  is  '  No  ships  will  be  sent.'  Good  bye 
Florida  !     They  won't  risk  making  the  French  Emperor  angry. 

"  I  had  a  letter  from  Monsieur  Le  Dru  d'Huys,  French  min- 
ister of  Foreign  affairs,  informing  me  *  the  Kearsarge  keeps 
steam  on  at  all  times  for  immediate  pursuit  of  the  Florida. 
It  will  not  be  permitted  by  France.  Men  from  England  will 
be  allowed  to  join  the  Florida'  But  /  say,  men  wont  if  I  get 
wind  of  their  coming  across.  Somebody's  to  decide,  and  / 
am  that  somebody. 

"  In  my  opinion,  only  the  French  Emperor  is  opposed  to  us, 
but  he  is  France. 

"The  Admiral  in  command  is  always  very  glad  to  see  me, 
and  as  far  as  he  is  concerned  is  on  our  side,  but  he  is  cautious 
and  does  not  commit  himself. 


Blockading  the  Florida.  123 

"  I  would  have  gone  to  Paris  to  consult  an  oculist  had  it 
not  been  for  the  peculiar  position  I  am  placed  in  with  the 
Florida." 

On  the  29th  of  October,  Winslow  received  the 
following  telegram  : 

"  Lisbon,  2gth  Oct.,  1863. 
"  To  Captain  Winslow, 

^'U.  S.  S.  ^  Kearsarge,'  Brest  : 
"  Cruiser  Georgia  has  been  continuing  outrages  near  Tene- 
riffe.  Was  seen  by  and  boarded  on  Sunday  last  Liverpool 
steamer  Crarauga,  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  from  here, 
steering  northward  and  eastward  in  direction  of  British 
Channel. 

"James  E.  Harvey,  U.  S.  Minister.'' 

"  U.  S.  S,  ''Kearsarge,^ 

"  QUEENSTOWN,   IRELAND, 

"■'  Nov.^,  1863. 

"You  will  be  surprised  to  learn  of  our  arrival  here,  but  I 
got  a  telegram  from  the  Minister  at  Lisbon,  informing  me  that 
the  Georgia  (pirate)  was  on  her  way  up  the  British  Channel, 
when  I  immediately  left  in  pursuit  of  her,  but  have  heard 
nothing  of  her. 

"  In  fact,  we  came  out  in  a  gale  of  wind,  and  have  had  noth- 
ing but  a  terrific  one  ever  since  we  left.  I  shall  leave  again, 
day  after  tomorrow,  for  Brest,  without  I  learn  something  defi- 
nite about  the  Georgia.  I  have  just  returned  from  Cork.  The 
people  are  almost  all  secesh  there.  You  don't  know  how  the 
English  officers  are  at  me  to  get  out  of  this  port.  The  Queen's 
proclamation  allows  us  only  twenty-four  hours,  except  for 
stress  of  weather,  and  it  has  been  blowing  a  gale  of  tremen- 
dous violence  for  a  week.  The  Prince  Consort  (Iron  Clad) 
almost  went  down. 

"  Tomorrow  I  shall  go  to  sea  and  return  to  Brest,  although 
the  Georgia  has  gone  into  Cherbourg." 


CHAPTER  XV. 

THE    QUEENSTOWN    INCIDENT. 

THE  Kearsarge  had  now  been  six  weeks  at 
Brest.  Agents  and  partisans  of  the  Con- 
federacy, on  both  sides  of  the  Channel,  found  her 
a  rankling  thorn  in  their  sides,  and  they  were 
ready  to  resort  to  almost  any  strategem  that  would 
force  her,  even  for  a  short  time,  to  quit  the  neighbor- 
hood. This  could  not  be  done  so  long  as  she  could 
coal,  repair,  and  provision,  even  within  the  limita- 
tions of  the  proclamations  of  neutrality,  in  British 
or  French  ports.  She  was,  therefore,  closely  watched 
for  violations  of  neutrality  and  repeatedly  charged 
with  them.  An  incident  that  occurred  durinof 
this  visit  to  Queenstown  was  quickly  seized 
upon  by  her  enemies,  and  its  misrepresentation 
strongly  affected  the  treatment  she  afterward  re- 
ceived in  British  ports.  The  whole  correspon- 
dence is  here  given,  for  it  tells  the  story  without 
need  of  comment. 


"  Foreign  Office, 

"  Nov.  JO,  i86j. 
"  Sir  : 

**  I  have  the  honor  to  call  your  attention  to  the  following 
statement  which  has  come  to  the  knowledge  of  Her  Majesty's 

124 


The  Queenstown  Incident.  125 

Government,  respecting  the  shipment  of  British  subjects  on 
board  the  United  States  Ship  of  War  Kearsarge  when  in  the 
port  of  Queenstown  for  service  in  the  Navy  of  the  United 
States. 

"  It  is  reported  that  when  the  Kearsarge  was  at  Queens- 
town early  in  this  month,  one  of  her  officers,  named  James 
Haley,  who  had  been  a  resident  of  Ringaskiddy  about  twenty 
years  ago,  and  who,  after  serving  on  board  Her  Majesty's 
ship  Shamrock,  had  entered  into  the  service  of  the  United 
States,  went  ashore  for  the  purpose  of  visiting  his  sister  at  that 
place,  and  when  there  persuaded  five  persons,  named  John 
Sullivan,  Edward  Rylurne,  Thomas  Murphy,  George  Patter- 
son, and  Denis  Leary  to  go  to  sea  in  the  Kearsarge.  These 
men  are  said  to  have  been  taken  on  board  that  vessel  by  one 
J.  Dunn,  a  boatman  of  Ringaskiddy.  Another  person  of 
the  name  of  Michael  Ahern,  lately  in  the  employment  of 
Messrs.  Scott  of  Queenstown,  is  also  reported  to  have  gone 
on  board  at  the  same  time.  None  of  these  persons  seem  to 
have  come  on  shore  again,  and  they  therefore  must  have 
sailed  in  the  Kearsarge  and  have  taken  service  in  her  as  sea- 
men. 

"  Her  Majesty's  Government  have  also  been  furnished  with 
copies  of  affidavits  made  by  Patrick  Kennedy  and  Edward 
Lynch,  both  natives  of  Queenstown,  who  declare  that  they 
proceeded  on  board  the  Kearsarge  to  enter  as  seamen,  but  did 
not  sail  in  her.  Patrick  Kennedy  deposes  that  he  underwent 
an  inspection  of  the  ship's  doctor  and  that  his  name  was 
registered,  that  he  saw  seven  or  eight  other  men  from  Ringas- 
kiddy come  on  board,  all  Irishmen  ;  one  of  them  named 
Murphy  ;  the  names  of  the  others  he  states  himself  not  to 
know.  He  states  that  he  was  informed  the  pay  would  be 
twelve  dollars  a  month.  Kennedy,  however,  left  the  ship  with 
the  pilot,  and  returned  to  land.  Kennedy  also  deposes  that  he 
saw  on  board  the  Kearsarge,  Mr.  Eastman,  the  American  Con- 
sul at  Queenstown,  in  conversation  with  one  of  the  officers, 
and  that  Mr.  Dawson,  the  agent  of  the  Consul,  was  also  on 
board. 

"  Edward  Lynch's  affidavit  corroborates  the  assertions  made 


126  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

by  Kennedy.  He  says  that  he  went  on  board  with  two  other 
Irishmen,  Daniel  O'Connell  of  VVhitepoint,  and  John  Con- 
nelly of  Bishop's  street,  Queenstown  ;  and  that  O'Connell 
and  Connelly,  having  been  passed  by  the  doctor,  were  en- 
gaged as  seamen  together  with  three  other  men,  all  British 
subjects,  whose  names  he  did  not  know,  he  himself  being  re- 
jected on  account  of  his  height.  He  declares  that  all  those 
whom  he  saw  thus  engaged  sailed  in  the  vessel  when  she  left 
Queenstown. 

"  I  need  not  point  out  to  you  the  importance  of  these  state- 
ments, as  proving  a  deliberate  violation  of  the  laws  of  this 
Country  within  one  of  its  harbors  by  commissioned  officers  of 
the  Navy  of  the  United  States. 

"  Before  I  say  more,  I  wait  to  learn  what  you  can  allege  in 
extenuation  of  such  culpable  conduct  on  the  part  of  the 
United  States  Officers  of  the  Navy  and  the  United  States 
Consul  at  Queenstown. 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  the  highest  consideration, 
"Sir, 

"  Your  most  obedient  humble  servant, 
"  Russell." 

"  50  Jermyne  Street,  London, 
"  Dec.  J,  i86j. 
"  Commander  J.  A.  Winslow, 

"  U.  S.  Steam  Sloop,  'Kearsarge^ 

"  Sir  : 

"  Enclosed  please  find  an  extract  from  the  Times  of  this 
morning  alleging  the  shipment  of  two  British  subjects  on 
board  the  Kearsarge  at  Queenstown  on  or  about  the  2d  ultimo. 
This  act,  I  have  to  inform  you  confidentially,  has  been  made 
the  ground  of  complaint  on  the  part  of  the  British  Govern- 
ment. In  the  temporary  absence  of  Mr.  Adams  from  the 
City  and  to  save  time,  I  beg  to  ask  you  to  let  Mr.  Adams  or 
myself  know  as  soon  as  possible  what  are  the  precise  facts  in 
the  case.  Let  your  statement  be  based  upon  the  enclosed 
extracts,  if  you  please,  and  without  reference  to  any  action  of 
the  British  Government  of  which  you  have  no  official  infor- 
mation. 


The  Oueenstown  Incident.  127 

"  In  anticipation  of  an  early  reply — for  the  emergency  can- 
not be  met  too  soon — 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  be 
"Sir, 

"  Yours  very  respectfully, 
"John  Bigelow, 

"  U.  S.  Consul  at  Paris." 

"  U.  S.  S.  'Kearsarge,' 
"  Brest,  France, 
'''■Dec.  II,  1863. 

"  Sir  : 

"Your  letter  with  enclosed  memorandum  is  at  hand.  I 
have  just  returned  from  a  cruise  of  reconnaissance  up  the 
Channel,  and  while  off  Cork,  landed  sixteen  men  who  had 
secreted  themselves  on  board  the  Kearsarge  some  time  prior 
to  her  departure  from  Queenstown  on  the  5th  ult, 

"  I  learnt  from  the  Consul  at  Queenstown  of  the  seizure  of 
this  act  by  secession  agents  to  make  capital  of,  and  left  with 
him  originals  of  the  enclosed  letters,  which  will  afford  you  all 
information  in  the  premises. 

"  I  would  beg  leave  to  say  that  so  far  as  my  action  is  con- 
cerned in  this  case,  I  was  so  particular  as  even  to  send  ashore 
an  American  seaman — Boston  born — lest  it  might  be  said  that 
I  had  not  dealt  faithfully. 

"  I  should  be  pleased  to  receive  your  views  on  consideration 
of  this  subject,  with  any  information  relating.  It  is  to  be  re- 
gretted that  the  daily  papers  could  not  publish  the  facts  and 
disclose  the  plot  of  secession  agents  to  prejudice  the  public 

mind. 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  be, 

"  Very  respectfully, 

"  Your  obedient  servant, 

"  Jno.  a.  Winslow, 
"  Captain. 
"  Hon.  Chas.  Francis  Adams, 

Env.  Ext.  and  Min.  Plen.  of  the  U.  S., 
"  London. 
"  or  John  Bigelow,  Esq., 
"  17.  S.  Consul,  Paris." 


128  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

"  f/.  S.  S.  ''Kearsarge* 
"  Sir  :  "At  Sea,  Dec.  7,  1863. 

"  A  party  of  men  either  by  connivance  of  the  crew  or  other- 
wise were  concealed  on  board  this  vessel  on  the  night  of  her 
departure  from  Queenstown,  the  5th  ult.  These  men  I  learn 
were  in  expectation  of  being  enlisted  in  the  service  of  the 
United  States  after  the  Kearsarge  had  proceeded  to  sea,  but 
found  their  mistake. 

"  To  have  turned  them  ashore  at  Brest  would  have  opened 
to  them  the  temptation  to  enlist  on  board  the  Florida.  I 
therefore  determined  to  leave  them  at  Queenstown  as  soon  as 
it  was  practicable. 

"  You  will  please  notify  Admiral  Jones  that  I  informed  him 
that  no  enlistment  \^ould  be  made  at  Queenstown. 

"  I  have  therefore  sent  on  shore  this  party,  that  no  charges 
of  subterfuge  may  be  alleged  in  the  premises. 
"  Very  respectfully, 

"Your  obedient  servant, 
"  E.  G.  Eastman,  Esq.,  "  Jno.  A.  Winslow,  Captain. 

''U.  S.  Consul:' 

"  U.  S.  S.  '^ Kearsarge : 

"  Off  Queen ^^town, 
"Sir:  -Dec  7,1863. 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  inform  you  that  I  came  to  off  Queens- 
town for  the  purpose  of  landing  sixteen  refugees  who  had  con- 
cealed themselves  on  board  this  ship  prior  to  her  departure 
from  Queenstown  on  the  5th  of  November.  I  learn  here  that 
an  attempt  has  been  made  to  magnify  this  circumstance  for 
purposes  unfriendly  to  the  United  States. 

"  I  have  therefore  given  to  the  American  Consul  my  certifi- 
cate with  a  representation  of  the  circumstances  by  the  Execu- 
tive officer  of  this  ship,  and  I  have  directed  the  Consul  to 
hand  you  a  copy  of  the  same. 

"  Very  respectfully, 

"  Your  obedient  servant, 
"  Rear  Admiral  "  Jno.  A.  Winslow,  Captatn. 

"  Sir  Lewis  T.  Jones, 

"  Comdg.  Her  Majesty  s  Naval  Forces^ 
"  Coast  of  Ireland." 


The  Oueenstown  Incident.  129 

"  I  certify  that  the  U.  S.  Steam  Sloop  Kearsarge  arrived  in 
Queenstown  on  the  night  of  the  2nd  of  November,  1863,  and 
that  on  the  day  following,  I  left  the  ship  for  Cork. 

"On  my  return  to  Queenstown,  accompanied  by  the  Ameri- 
can Consul,  I  called  upon  the  Admiral  in  command,  and  in' 
course  of  conversation  reference  was  made  to  a  paragraph  in 
the  papers,  that  the  Kearsarge  had  come  in  for  the  purpose  of 
enlisting  men  ;  when  I  informed  the  Admiral  that  I  had  re- 
ceived notice  from  the  Executive  officer  of  the  Kearsarge  that 
many  persons  had  applied  to  be  shipped,  and  in  response,  I 
had  directed  him  to  notify  all  persons  that  no  enlistments 
would  be  made,  and  instructions  were  given  in  accordance. 

"  On  the  night  of  the  5th  November  while  blowing  heavy 
and  thick  weather  we  went  to  sea.  On  the  following  day,  re- 
port was  made  to  me  that  several  men  had  been  discovered  on 
board  ;  investigation  shew  that  they  had  concealed  themselves 
in  the  ship  during  the  thick  and  rainy  weather  of  the  day  and 
night  previous,  and  disguised  in  this  way  had  come  out  in  the 
ship  in  hopes  of  enlistment  in  the  service  of  the  United  States, 
after  the  ship  got  to  sea. 

"  The  Kearsarge  was  on  important  duty  watching  the  Florida 
at  Brest,  and  it  was  therefore  impracticable  to  return  the  men 
to  Queenstown  immediately. 

"  I  directed  the  men  to  be  held  at  Brest,  in  apprehension  if 
they  now  turned  ashore,  they  would  join  the  Florida,  resolving 
as  soon  as  the  Kearsarge  left  Brest  again  to  put  them  ashore 
at  Cork. 

"  The  Kearsarge  left  Brest  again  on  the  5th  of  December, 
and  in  accordance  with  my  resolution,  I  have  this  day  the  7th 
of  December  sent  sixteen  men  ashore  in  the  Pilot  boat.  Petrel, 
with  a  list  of  their  names  as  given  to  the  American  Consul. 

"John  A.  Winslow,  Captain" 

"  U,  S.  S.  'Kearsarge' 

"  Off  Queenstown, 

"  Dec.  y,  1863. 
"Sir: 

"  I  beg  leave  to  state  in  accordance  with  your  request,  that 

on  or  about  the  3rd  of  November,  1863,  several  men   from 
9 


I30  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

Queenstown  came  on  board  of  this  ship  as  applicants  for  en- 
listment in  the  Naval  service.  In  the  absence  of  yourself  and 
of  any  definite  instructions  in  regard  to  such  applications,  I 
told  the  men  tliat  if  they  were  physically  qualified  for  enlist- 
ment, they  might  remain  on  board  until  your  return,  when  you 
would  decide.  Upon  your  return,  your  instructions  were  not 
to  enlist  them.  These  men  were  accordingly  sent  out  of  the 
ship. 

"  Many  applications  of  a  similar  nature  were  made,  but 
their  enlistment  was  in  every  case  refused  in  accordance  with 
your  instructions. 

"  During  the  time  we  were  at  anchor,  the  ship  was  sur- 
rounded by  boats  filled  with  men  desiring  to  enlist.  Orders 
were  given  and  executed  not  to  allow  them  alongside.  On 
the  day  of  the  5th  this  was  the  case  until  after  dark,  and  until 
the  ship  was  underweigh. 

"  The  ship  went  to  sea  on  the  evening  of  the  5th  Novr.  It 
was  stormy  and  blowing  hard. 

"  In  accordance  with  the  usual  custom  of  the  ship  and  with 
the  necessities  of  the  case  (as  I  thought)  before  tripping  the 
anchor  all  strangers  were  ordered  out  of  the  ship.  The  Mas- 
ter-at-arms, with  the  ship's  corporal  and  others  of  the  police 
force,  executed  the  order,  finding  men  stowed  away  in  the 
hold,  in  the  Carpenter's  locker  and  elsewhere.  These  men 
were  put  out  of  the  ship,  in  some  cases  by  force.  As  soon  as 
the  ship  was  reported  cleared,  the  anchor  was  tripped  and  the 
ship  went  to  sea. 

"On  the  next  day  several  men  were  discovered  who  were 
strangers  in  the  ship.  These  men,  probably  with  the  conni- 
vance of  some  of  the  crew,  had  been  so  securely  concealed  as 
to  elude  the  vigilance  of  the  police  force.  Upon  receiving 
this  information,  you  decided  to  land  these  men  at  Brest, 
whither  you  were  bound. 

"  These  men  were  sent  out  of  the  ship  at  Brest  in  accordance 
with  this  determination,  but  pleading  destitution  were  returned 
and  were  permitted  to  remain  on  board  until  this  morning, 
when  they  were  returned  to  Queenstown  by  the  Pilot  hosLtPeirel. 

"I   would  add   that  the  names  of    these  men,  upon  their 


The  Queenstown  Incident  131 

leturn  to  the  ship  while  at  Brest  harbor,  were  placed  upon  the 

ship's  books  for  the  purpose  of  their  support  and  comfort, 

they  being  otherwise  entirely  destitute. 

"Very  respectfully, 

"  Your  obedient  servant, 

"James  S.  Thornton, 

,,  ,  ^^  Lieut.  Comdr.  and  Executive  Officer. 

Captain 

"  Jno.  a,  Winslow, 

"  Commanding." 

Extract  from  a  letter  from  the    United  States 
Minister  to  England,  December  16,  1863  : 

"I  write  merely  to  express  my  satisfaction  on  learning  that 
you  have  promptly  disavowed  all  intention  of  violating  the 
neutrality  of  this  kingdom.  I  had  already  taken  measures  to 
lay  a  copy  of  your  note  to  Mr.  Eastman  of  the  yth  instant,  be- 
fore the  British  Government.  This  is  all  the  notice  that  seems 
proper  to  be  taken  in  Great  Britain  of  the  complaint.  It  is 
not  expedient  to  have  any  recourse  to  the  newspapers.  Copies 
of  all  the  papers  have  been  transmitted  for  the  consideration 
of  the  Government  at  home. 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  be.  Sir, 

"  Your  obedient  servant, 

,j  "  Charles  Francis  Adams. 

Comdr.  J.  A.  Winslow, 

"  Brest." 

The  first  part  of  this  letter,  which  is  lost,  must 
have  contained  the  remark  that  brought  forth  the 
two  following  replies  from  Winslow  : 

U.  S.  S.  '' Kear surge ^ 

"  Brest,  France, 
.«gjj^.  '' Dec.  ig,  1863. 

"Your  letter  of  the  3rd  inst.  was  answered  with  full  com- 
mentaries on  the  subject,  as  requested  by  you,  addressed  to 
Mr.  Adams. 


132  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

"  In  reply  Mr.  Adams  says  he  was  not  aware  of  having  writ- 
ten me,  as  the  ship  I  was  in,  being  stationed  in  France,  he 
could  scarcely  do  so  except  through  Mr.  Dayton.  I  have 
written  to  disabuse  his  mind  of  the  impression  of  our  station, 
which  extends  all  over  the  coast  of  Europe. 
"  Very  respectfully, 

"  Your  obedient  servant, 

"  Jno.  a.  Winslow,  Captain. 
"  John  Bigelow,  Esq., 
"  U.  S.  Consul^  Paris. 

"  (Forwarded  to  London.)" 

"  U.  S.  S.  '' Kearsarge,^ 
"  Brest,  France, 
"  Dec.  ig.  i86j. 

"Sir: 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  inform  you  that  my  letter  of  the 
nth  inst.  was  in  response  to  a  letter  from  Mr.  Bigelow  at 
London,  in  which  he  remarked  that  in  the  absence  of  Mr. 
Adams  he  had  written  to  me  ;  and  requesting  that  my  answer 
might  be  addressed  to  you  or  himself  at  London.  I  inferred 
therefore  that  the  duties  of  the  Legation  had  been  committed 
to  him  until  your  return. 

"  I  would  beg  leave  to  state  that  this  ship  is  not  stationed 
at  any  one  point,  the  orders  for  her  cruising  embracing  the 
whole  coast  of  Europe,  and  any  information  you  may  deem  of 
importance  to  the  mercantile  interest,  and  which  comes  within 
the  duties  of  a  cruiser  of  the  United  States  to  watch  over,  I 
I  shall  be  extremely  obliged  to  you  if  you  will  advise  me  of. 
"  I  have  the  honor  to  be 

"  Very  respectfully, 

"Your  obedient  servant, 

"  Jno.  a.  Winslow,  Captain. 
"  Hon.  Chas.  F.  Adams, 

^*JE?iv.  Ext.  and  Min.  Plen. 

of  the  United  States." 

In  due  course  of  circumlocution,  the  following 
comes  from  the  Navy  Department : 


The  Queenstown  Incident.  133 

"  Navy  Department, 

"  Washington,  Dec.  20,  i86j. 
"  SiR  : 

"  The  alleged  violation  of  the  Foreign  Enlistment  Act 
of  Great  Britain  by  the  Kearsarge,  by  shipping  British  sub- 
jects at  Queenstown  for  service  in  the  U.  S.  Navy,  has 
been  made  the  subject  of  complaint  by  the  Government  of 
Great  Britain.  I  transmit  herewith  a  copy  of  a  note  addressed 
to  Mr.  Adams,  on  the  30th  ult.  by  Earl  Russell  giving  the 
statements  that  have  come  to  the  knowledge  of  Her  Majesty's 
Government,  respecting  the  matter.  Your  especial  attention 
is  invited  to  the  note,  and  the  Department  directs  that  you 
will  report  to  it  without  delay  all  the  circumstances  connected 
with  the  matter  in  question,  with  such  explanations  as  the 
case  may  require. 

"  Very  respectfully,  etc., 

"  Gideon  Welles, 

"  Sec'y  of  Navy. 
"  Capt,  J.  A.  WiNSLOw, 

"  Comdg.  U.  S.  S.  ''Kearsarge^ 
"  Brest." 

One  would  naturally  suppose  the  incident  now 
closed,  but  on  the  6th  of  April,  1864,  in  the  House 
of  Lords,  the  Earl  of  DonouQrhmore  referred  to 
the  case  of  the  men  who  had  been  received  into 
the  United  States  ship  of  war,  the  Kearsarge,  at 
Cork,  and  urged  that  the  statement  of  the  Captain, 
that  he  did  not  know  of  their  being  in  the  vessel, 
was  contrary  to  the  depositions  of  the  men  them- 
selves. 

Earl  Russell  said  that  he  had  called  the  atten- 
tion of  the  American  minister  to  this  case,  who 
informed  him  that  instructions  had  been  issued  by 
the  Government  of  the  United  States  to  the  effect 
that  any  officer  in  its  service  who   infringed  the 


134  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

Foreign  Enlistment  Act  should  be  dismissed.  Mr. 
Adams  had  also  offered  to  refer  the  case  of  the 
Kearsarge  to  the  executive  at  Washington,  but  he 
(Earl  Russell)  was  not  of  opinion  that  either  the 
American  Consul  or  the  Captain  of  the  Kearsarge 
was  culpable  in  this  matter. 

The  Marquis  of  Clanricarde  objected  to  allowing 
the  Kearsarge  to  be  repaired  in  one  of  Her 
Majesty's  dockyards  under  the  circumstances. 

This  debate  drew  from  Winslow  the  following 
letter,  which  was  published  in  British  newspapers  : 

"THE  REPORTED  FEDERAL  ENLISTMENTS 
AT  QUEENSTOVVN. 

"  We  are  requested  to  publish  the  following  letter  : 

"To  the  Marquis  of  Clanricarde  : 
"  My  Lord, — 

"  My  attention  has  in  several  instances  been  directed  to 
the  debates  in  Parliament,  in  which  the  United  States  sloop 
Kearsarge  has  been  the  subject  matter.  The  remarks 
which  your  lordship  is  reported  to  have  made  in  the  debate 
of  the  5th  instant  have  led  me  to  suppose  that  you  were 
desirous  of  the  truth. 

"  Now,  there  can  be  nothing  easier  than  its  attainment. 
There  are  on  board  the  Kearsarge  some  one  hundred  and 
eighty  persons — enough,  one  would  suppose,  to  testify  before 
a  judicial  court  of  the  proceedings  at  Queenstown. 

"  Again,  there  is  a  log-book  which  records  every  occurrence 
of  the  day,  all  of  which  are  open  to  examination. 

"  Now,  my  lord,  if  these  means  are  used  for  revealing  facts, 
you  will  find  that  the  Kearsarge  does  not  want  men,  that  she 
has  more  than  her  complement,  and  that  the  frequent  applica- 
tions of  the  Consuls  of  the  United  States  to  send  American 
seamen  to  her  have  all  been  met  by  a  refusal.     You  will  find 


The  Queenstown  Incident.  135 

also  that  these  men  (almost  in  rags)  who  secreted  themselves 
at  Queenstown,  were  far  from  being  such  as  would  be  ac- 
cepted for  a  man-of-war.  Again,  you  will  find  that  they  were 
entered  upon  the  books  of  the  Kearsarge  at  Brest,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  rationing  and  clothing  them  until  they  could  be  re- 
turned to  Cork,  for  without  the  adoption  of  this  course,  the 
whole  of  the  expenses  would  have  been  charged  to  the  Cap- 
tain. Again  you  will  find  that  the  crew  of  the  Kearsarge  sub- 
scribed a  large  sum  rather  than  the  clothes  should  be  taken 
from  them.  And  further,  that  many  of  the  Royal  Marines  at 
Deal,  and  sailors  at  every  port  touched  at  in  the  United  King- 
dom have  offered  themselves  in  numbers,  and  all  have  been 
refused  enlistment.  All  these  facts  are  open  to  proof  if  it 
becomes  necessary  to  show  it.  It  is  true,  sir,  that  the  execu- 
tive had  orders,  before  the  captain  left  the  ship  at  Queens- 
town, that  four  or  five  men  could  be  taken,  if  any  American 
seamen  were  found  on  the  Consul's  charge,  and  from  this 
report  the  ship  was  besieged  by  hundreds  of  men  for  enlist- 
ment. But  on  arrival  of  the  captain,  orders  were  issued  that 
no  enlistments  would  be  made,  and  the  ship  was  cleared  of 
strangers,  and  the  reasons  given  for  not  taking  any  consular 
men  were,  that  the  captain  had  informed  the  English  admiral 
that,  in  order  that  no  ground  of  complaint  could  be  made, 
even  American  seamen  would  not  be  enlisted. 

"  It  is  therefore,  my  lord,  absurd  to  think  that  we  were  in  want 
of  the  miserable  trash  that  were  secreted  in  the  dark  and 
stormy  night  we  went  to  sea. 

"  In  commenting  upon  this  case  I  may  be  permitted  to  re- 
mark that  the  principle,  so  long  established  by  Englishmen, 
that  fair  play  should  be  given,  seems  lost  sight  of,  and  foul 
play  substituted.  I  hope  your  lordship  is  not  one  who,  how- 
ever opposed  to  the  Government,  will  lose  sight  of  this  great 
principle,  which  has  been  so  redeeming  a  trait  in  the  character 
of  Englishmen. 

"  In  adopting  the  unusual  course  of  addressing  this  letter  to 
you,  which  has  been  elicited  by  the  remark  published  as  hav- 
ing been  made  by  you,  'Why  should  not  the  officers  at  once 
come  to  London  and  make  such  a  statement  of  the  real  facts 


136  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

as  the  American  Minister  would  be  prepared  to  vouch  for?' 
I  have  thought  it  not  inappropriate  to  publish  the  letter. 

"  I  have,  etc., 

"  Jno.  a.  Winslow,  Captain. 
"  United  States  Sloop  '  Keajsarge,' 
''  April  6,  1864." 

The  irregularity  of  this  communication  was  ad- 
mitted, but  that  Winslow  felt  driven  to  it  and  that 
it  was  well  timed  seems  to  be  indicated  by  the  fol- 
lowing extracts  from  his  private  letters  : 

' '  April  26,  1864. 

"  I  have  had  a  sharp  correspondence  with  Mr.  Adams,  our 
Minister.  He  has  sided  with  the  English  in  everything.  .  .  . 
The  Americans  are  all  mad  with  him." 

' '  May  IS,  1864. 

"  One  of  your  letters,  forwarded  here,  contains  a  notice  of 
Kearsarge  debate  in  Parliament,  and  I  suppose  ere  this  you 
have  seen  more  about  it.  My  letter  to  Earl  Clanricarde  placed 
matters  in  the  right  light  and  threw  the  tables  on  our  side,  for 
everyone  was  ashamed  to  make  other  attacks  on  us.  I  re- 
ceived from  everyone  the  most  unbounded  civility  —  particu- 
larly from  officers  of  the  English  Army  and  Navy." 

"  June  I  J,  J  864. 

"  G wrote  me  about  my  letter  to  Clanricarde,  but  he,  or 

anyone  away  from  here,  is  not  aware  of  the  immense  influence, 
which  has  been  brought  to  bear  to  bring  on  war  with  the 
United  States  and  England.  The  Tories  have  moved  every- 
thing to  effect  it,  with  the  hope  of  dividing  the  country  and 
breaking  down  democracy." 

The  Clanricarde  letter  at  once  excited  the  ire  of 
Minister  Adams,  who  addressed  Winslow  on  the 
subject  as  follows  : 

"  My  attention  has  been  called  to  a  publication  in  the  Daily 
News   of  yesterday,   of   a    paper    purporting   to    be    a   letter 


The  Oueenstown  Incident.  137 

addressed  by  you  to  the  Marquis  of  Clanricarde.  A  proceeding 
of  this  kind  is  wholly  irregular,  and,  in  my  opinion,  if  prac- 
tised, calculated  to  endanger  the  friendly  relations  between 
the  United  States  and  foreign  nations.  I  am  sorry  to  say  that 
I  feel  it  my  duty  to  make  a  report  of  the  subject  to  the  Gov- 
ernment. 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  Sir, 

"  Your  obedient  servant, 

"  Charles  Francis  Adams. 
"  Capt.  J.  A.  WiNSLOw, 

'''' Comdg.  U.  S.  S.  *"  Kearsarge.'  " 

To  this  WInslow  replied,  April  loth  : 

" .  .  .  I  regret  to  learn  your  views  upon  a  letter  pub- 
lished in  the  '  News  '  to  the  Marquis  of  Clanricarde.  That 
gentleman  propounded  a  question  to  the  officers  of  this  ship 
and  the  reply  is  hardly  one  that  could  give  offence.  On  the 
contrary,  I  learn  from  English  officers  that  the  answer  was  one 
which  was  gratifying,  as  elucidating  the  case  and  highly  com- 
plimentary to  the  English  character  on  other  points. 

"  It  has  not  been  my  custom  to  reply  to  any  observation 
made  in  the  public  prints  on  this  ship,  much  less  any  refer- 
ence made  in  Parliament,  but  the  question  so  fairly  submitted 
by  Marquis  Clanricarde  for  information  from  the  officers  of 
this  ship,  it  would  hardly  be  conceived  exceptional  to  answer, 
though  it  was  irregular, 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  be 
"  Most  respectfully, 

"  Your  obedient  servant, 

"  Jno.  a.  Winslow,  Captain. 
"  Hon.  Charles  Francis  Adams, 

"  Env.  Ext.  and  Min,  Plen. 

of  the  United  States'* 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

THE    ESCAPE    OF    THE    GEORGIA    AND    FLORIDA. 

"  Wretched^  wretched  English  Channel !  1  pity  the  poor  mari- 
ner who  frequents  you  in  winter  time,  with  awful  gales  and  long, 
lojig  nights.'' — Raphael  Semmes. 

THE  Kearsarge  was  back  in  the  harbor  of  Brest 
on  the  8th  of  November.  She  now  had  an- 
other Confederate  cruiser  to  watch,  at  Cherbourg, 
but  the  Florida  was  nearly  ready  for  sea,  while  the 
Georgia  would  probably  remain  in  port  some  time. 
There  was  thus  some  chance  of  engaging  them  seri- 
atim, and  Winslow  stood  on  the  alert  to  precede  his 
first  adversary  to  sea,  keeping  fully  informed  as  to 
every  detail  of  her  preparations  and  those  of  the 
Geo7^gia  through  Minister  Dayton,  the  United  States 
consuls,  and  a  number  of  spies  in  Brest  and  Cher- 
bourg. The  Florida  was  handicapped  by  lack  of 
men,  and  Winslow  very  vigorously,  and  with  some 
success,  combatted  efforts  to  recruit  them  in  France. 
Realizing  the  extent  of  the  repairs  that  had  been 
permitted  on  the  Florida,  noting  that  the  Georgia 
had  sought  a  neighboring  French  port,  and  having 
heard  that  the  Alabama  was  expected  to  do  the 
same,  Winslow  determined  to  make  a  strong  effort 

138 


Escape  of  the  Georgia  and  Florida.     139 

to  prevent  such  partisan  hberahty  toward  these 
last,  and  addressed  the  following  letter  to  Minister 
Dayton  : 

"  U.  S.  S.  '  A'earsarge,' 
"  Brest,  France, 
' '  Novr.  24th,  1863. 

"Sir: 

"  The  duty  of  watching  the  Florida  here  is  irksome  in  char- 
acter, and  one  that  from  personal  reasons  I  could  have  wished 
had  been  unprotracted,  but  the  cause  of  delay  involves  a 
question  which  to  my  my  mind,  affects  so  seriously  the  neutral- 
ity principle,  that  I  have  deemed  it  my  duty  to  submit  it  for 
your  consideration.  The  question  to  which  I  refer  is — To 
what  extent  repairs  can  be  made  on  a  vessel  of  war  in  the 
ports  of  a  nation  at  peace  with  both  belligerents.  By  the 
English  Queen's  proclamation,  United  States  and  Confeder- 
ate vessels  of  war  will  be  prohibited  from  taking  anything  but 
provisions  for  subsistence  of  the  crew,  coals  sufficient  to  carry 
them  '  to  the  nearest  port  of  their  country,  or  to  some  nearer 
destination,'  in  case  of  stress  of  weather,  necessary  repairs  ; 
and  vessels  are  required  to  sail  in  twenty-four  hours  after 
arrival,  except  when  repairs  are  made,  which  shall  be  com- 
pleted as  soon  as  possible  and  the  vessel  ordered  to  depart. 

"  Now  in  the  case  of  the  Florida  it  cannot  be  argued  that 
she  entered  the  port  of  Brest  to  make  the  necessary  repairs, 
caused  from  the  violence  of  the  sea.  She  steamed  well  when 
she  was  in  the  Channel,  and  had  experienced  no  gale  of  wind. 
Since  she  has  been  at  Brest,  she  has  almost  been  converted 
into  a  new  and  changed  vessel.  Her  machinery  has  been 
modified,  heavy  parts  for  this  modification  cast  in  Paris  ;  in- 
stead of  repairs  of  sails,  a  new  and  entire  suit  has  been  made 
for  her  ;  her  battery  also  has  been  transformed,  roomy  large 
ports  cut  in  the  bow,  and  the  guns  fitted  to  work  in  them. 
Fighting  bolts  put  in  fore  and  aft  where  breechings  were 
seized,  and  various  other  alterations. 

"  Now  it  appears  to  me  if  such  modifications  are  valid  and 
can  be  effected  under  the  plea  that  repairs  have  been  made, 
caused  by  stress  of  weather  and  the  violence  of  the  sea,  there 


I40  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

can   be   no  difference  of  admitting  the    Confederate   sailing 
vessel  Tuscaloosa  into  a  port  of  France,  building  around  her 
new  sides  and  transforming  her  into  a  steamer. 
"  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  Sir, 

"  Most  respectfully, 

"  Your  obedient  servant, 

"  Jno.  a.  Winslow,  Captain. 
"Wm.  L.  Dayton,"  etc. 

Meantime  the  Florida  was  ready,  and  the  gov- 
ernment that  had  so  Hberally  repaired  her  was 
called  upon  to  prescribe  rules  by  which  she  might 
elude  her  ever-vigilant  adversary.  Winslow  was 
notified  that  if  he  preceded  the  Florida  to  sea  he 
must  remain  outside  the  headlands  of  Ushant  and 
the  reefs  to  the  southward,  and  that  a  French 
steamer,  the  Ville  de  Lyon,  would  accompany  him 
to  see  the  prescribed  rules  complied  with.  Thus, 
two  channels  were  opened,  to  the  south  or  to  the 
north  behind  Ushant,  for  the  Florida  to  slip  through. 

At  this  critical  stage  another  Confederate  cruiser 
appeared  on  the  scene  at  Calais. 

"  Legation  of  the  United  States, 
"  Paris, 

"  30th  November ,  1863, 

"  Capt.  Winslow, 

"  U.  S.  S.  'Kearsarge,' 
"  Sir  : 

"  I  am  directed  by  the  Minister  to  send  you  the  following 
copy  of  a  letter  just  received  from  Mr.  Bigelow,  U.  S.  Consul 
at  Paris,  who  is  now  in  London. 

"  '  London,  Nov.  28th,  i86j. 
"  *  Mv  DEAR  Sir: 

" '  The  Rappahannock  was  formerly  the  Victor  of  the  R.  N. 
She  escaped  from  Sheerness   on   the  night  of  24th  about    i 


Escape  of  the  Georgia  and  Florida.     141 

o'clock,  without  a  clearance,  her  owners  having  discovered 
that  her  destination  had  leaked  out  and  that  she  was  likely  to 
be  seized  the  next  day  or  at  least  complained  of.  I  learn 
from  Mr,  Vendroux  by  last  evening's  mail  that  the  Imperial 
Government  has  directed  the  authorities  at  Calais  to  let  the 
ship  sail  when  she  pleases.  Mr.  Morse  has  evidence  of  all  the 
circumstances  connected  with  her  fitting-out  and  escape 
which  he  is  reducing  to  an  affidavit  to  be  made  the  basis  of 
a  representation  to  the  British  Government. 

" '  It  is  intended  by  the  Confederates  to  arm  and  equip  the 
Rappahannock  at  sea.  Two  vessels  belonging  to  the  Confed- 
erates, the  Aggrtptna  and  the  Harriet  Pinkney,  are  to  take  out 
her  equipment  and  to  make  the  transfer  at  the  Azores  islands 
between  the  islands  St.  Michels  and  Formigas. 

"  '  The  Aggrtptna  left  London  last  Saturday  and  the  H.  F.orv 
the  1 6th.     Both  are  now  at  Plymouth.' 

"  The  above  information  of  the  place  of  rendezvous  is  given 
to  you  in  strict  confidence. 

"  The  following  description  may  assist  you  in  making  out 
the  Rappahannock  :    '  Boat  hanging  by  davits  on   starboard — 
none  on  larboard — painted  black  with  a  small  yellow  streak.' 
"  I  am.  Sir, 

"  Your  obedient  servant, 
**Wm.  L.  Dayton,  Jr., 

''Assist.  Sec.  of  Leg." 

We  have  now  run  a  Httle  ahead  of  private  corre- 
spondence. 

"  Kear surge,  Brest, 
"  Nov.  14,  i86j. 
"...  I  wrote  you  from  Cork,  I  had  a  hard  time 
there  battling  with  the  English  Admiral,  He  is  a 'Sir 'and 
his  wife  a  'my  Lady';  he  invited  me  to  dinner,  but  I  could 
not  go.  It  is  singular,  but  in  Brest,  there  is  not  that  private 
house  I  have  been  in,  no  one  has  said  '  Bean  Soup '  to  me. 
Florida  still  here, — I  don't  know  when  she  is  going  out, 
and  if  the  Georgia  remains  at  Cherbourg  as  long,  I  think  we 
shall  pass  the  winter  here." 


142  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

^'  Kearsarge,  BREST, 

' '  A^ov.  21,  i86j. 

" .  .  .  I  am  still  watching  the  Florida^  and  some  of 
the  Georgia  s  officers  are  here  now.  I  shall  sail  as  soon  as  I 
hear  of  her  going  out. 

"  Mr.  Dayton  writes  from  Paris — '  The  Department  wont 
send  any  more  vessels  out,  though  I  myself  have  urged  it  upon 
the  Secretary  of  the  Navy.' — '  The  Department  is  satisfied  with 
your  zeal,  and  have  confidence  in  your  judgment ;  where  it  is 
best  to  cruise  or  what  you  are  to  do,  be  your  own  judge.'  But 
1  know  this,  if  there  is  an  error  or  complaint,  then  I  am  sure  to 
get  itr 

''''  U.  S.  S.  ^  Kearsarge^ 
"  Brest,  France, 

"  November  28,  iS6j. 

"  .  .  .  I  see  by  the  '  Advertiser,'  you  sent  me,  affairs  look 
brighter.  I  am  tired  to  death  waiting  here  for  the  Florida  — 
she  wont  sail,  nor  do  I  see  any  prospect  of  her  doing  so.  I 
have  been  in  constant  communication  with  our  Ministers 
abroad,  and  I  have  written  them,  that  it  is  best  for  Mr.  Seward 
to  put  a  minister  now  in  the  ships  of  war,  for  the  many  ques- 
tions which  are  to  be  debated. 

"  I  have  today  a  letter  from  Dudley,  and  one  from  London 
about  more  privateers.  But  if  the  war  is  more  successful  (for 
the  North)  it  will  end  the  play  of  the  Rebel  Sympathizers. 

"  Mr.  Minister,  from  Lisbon  wrote  me  my  '  celerity  and  zeal 
called  forth  his  thanks,  and  he  had  written  to  Mr.  Seward  to 
ask  him  to  so  inform  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy.' 

"  (7.  S.  S.  '  A'earsarge,' 
"  Brest, 
"'December  16th,  i86j. 
" .     .     .     When  I  went  to  land  in  Cork,  some  fifteen  men 
secreted  themselves  in  this  vessel,  in  the  tremendous  weather 
we  had.     The  English  all  hate  this  ship,  and  took  hold  of  this 
act  to  try  and  make  something  out  of  it. 

"  Lord  John  Russell  sent  the  most  foolish  philippics,  going 
off  half  cocked,  and  I  suppose  he  now  finds  he  was  made  a 
dupe  of.  This  thing  has  cost  me  more  writing  than  would  fill 
a  quire  of  paper. 


Escape  of  the  Georgia  and  Florida.     143 

**  No  person  can  form  an  idea,  without  having  been  in  Eng- 
land, of  the  terrible  strength  of  secession  feeling.  There  is 
hardly  a  paper  that  will  publish  accounts  of  our  victories, 
and  one  would  suppose  that  the  North  is  always  whipped. 
For  instance,  the  '  Times  '  says  '  Bragg  fell  back,  it  is  true, 
owing  to  difficulties,  he  lost  sixteen  guns  '  (not  sixty,  as  our 
papers  say).  I  went  off  Plymouth,  but  told  them  I  would  not 
go  in,  or  they  would  manufacture  some  other  sensational  news 
about  the  Kearsarge.  The  Georgia  and  Florida,  I  believe,  are 
now  getting  ready  for  a  start.  I  expect  momentarily  a  tele- 
gram about  the  Georgia' s  departure  ;  I  shall  try  to  head  her 
off,  as  she  comes  down  the  Channel.  Report  says  she  intends 
to  join  the  Florida.  If  I  get  news  of  her  early  departure,  I 
shall  interfere  with  that  movement.  I  am  heartily  tired  of  be- 
ing here  so  long,  never  go  out  of  port  without  its  blowing 
terrifically. 

'*  The  Frenchmen  have  become  more  polite  and  attentive 
since  I  was  here  before,  owing  to  General  Grant's  victories.  I 
do  hope  there  is  now  some  prospect  of  the  end. 

"  I  think  the  Kearsarge  will  go  home  about  May.  She  has 
a  name  here  for  expedition  and  strength,  and  withal,  does 
credit  to  the  country,  keeping  the  rebels  in  port." 

Meanwhile  the  Florida  hngered  at  Brest,  and  on 
the  first  of  December  it  was  reported  that  the 
Georgia  was  ready  for  sea.  Captain  Winslow  was 
repeatedly  told  by  apprehensive  sympathizers  that 
the  two  cruisers  probably  contemplated  a  junction 
to  engage  the  Kearsarge,  but  he  would  have  wel- 
comed this  as  great  good  luck.  Then  it  began  to 
be  rumored  that  the  Rappahannock  was  about  to 
join  forces  with  the  other  two  for  his  annihilation, 
but  he  expressed  himself  as  eager  to  accept  even 
these  odds  in  order  to  bring-  his  adversaries  to 
battle.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  Rappahannock 
was  without  an  armament,  and  the  real  purpose  of 


144  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

the  Confederate  agents  was  to  effect  a  meeting  be- 
tween the  Georgia  and  Rappahannock,  in  order  to 
transfer  the  battery  of  the  former  to  the  latter  ;  the 
Georgia  having  proved  a  failure  on  account  of  her 
small  sail  power  and  very  limited  coal  endurance. 
The  Florida  was  probably  detained  at  Brest  to  en- 
gage the  attention  of  the  Kearsarge  until  the  other 
two  cruisers  could  effect  this  transfer.  The  Rappa- 
hannock, however,  was  badly  tied  up  by  diplomatic 
protest  and  correspondence.  She  was  one  of  sev- 
eral British  despatch-boats  which  had  been  sold 
at  Sheerness.  While  she  was  fitting  out  there,  it 
was  irrefutably  demonstrated  to  the  British  author- 
ties  that  she  was  a  Confederate  cruiser.  She  there- 
fore fled  without  clearance  from  Sheerness  to  avoid 
seizure,  was  commissioned  by  Confederate  officers 
in  the  English  Channel,  and  taken  into  Calais  as  a 
Confederate  man-of-war  in  need  of  repairs.  Al- 
though accorded  hospitality,  she  was  practically 
under  detention  while  her  legal  status  was  being 
debated. 

The  inadequacy  of  a  single  ship  to  cope  with  the 
situation  was  now  tryingly  apparent.  The  U.  S.  S. 
St.  Lords,  a  sailer,  lying  at  Cadiz,  was  the  only 
other  Federal  vessel  in  neighboring  waters.  Her 
cruising  ground,  carefully  defined  by  the  Navy  De- 
partment, was  from  the  Cape  Verdes  to  Lisbon, 
and  not  a  word  in  the  instructions  to  her  com- 
mander suggested  co-operation  with  the  Kearsarge. 
Winslow  had  learned,  by  carefully  studying  the 
problem  in  the  light  of  experience,  that  the  only 
sound  plan  for  capturing  or  suppressing  the  Con- 


Escape  of  the  Georgia  and  Florida.     i45 

federate  cruisers  was  by  concentration  in  the  local- 
ity from  which  they  issued,  and  to  which,  by  force 
of  circumstances,  they  would  eventually  return. 
This  he  tried  repeatedly  to  impress  upon  the  Navy 
Department,  but  with  little  success.  Many  cruisers 
were  sent  chasing  hither  and  thither  over  the  high 
seas  after  Confederate  vessels,  with  only  fortuitous 
chances  of  meeting  them,  and  not  a  capture  was 
made.  If  any  two  of  them  had  been  with  the 
Kearsarge,  the  Georgia  and  Florida  might  have 
been  captured. 

So  long  as  but  one  vessel  was  assigned  to  the 
locality,  it  was  absolutely  essential  to  any  success 
that  she  should  be  kept  coaled  and  victualled  on 
her  station.  Instead  of  this,  storeships  were 
sent  to  Cadiz.  Winslow  solved  the  coal  question 
more  that  once  by  coaling  in  open  roadsteads  in 
the  vicinity  of  his  blockade,  from  vessels  sent  from 
Cardiff,  but  it  was  exceedingly  difficult  either  to 
husband  or  replenish  his  sea  stores.  He  should 
have  adopted  a  similar  method  of  solving  this 
difficulty,  and  this,  too,  he  was  destined  to  learn  by 
experience. 

"  U.  S.  S.  'Kearsarge,' 

"  Brest,  France, 

"  Dec.  2oth,  iS6j. 

"  Sir  : 

"  It  is  necessary  to  provision  this  ship,  and  supplies  of 
beef,  pork  and  tobacco  cannot  be  obtained  in  Brest.  1  am 
therefore  compelled  to  proceed  to  our  depot  at  Cadiz,  for  this 
object.  We  could  remain  here  for  two  or  three  weeks  longer, 
but  the  expenditure  of  provisions  would  prevent  our  sailing 
for  the  Azores  in  case  of  need. 

"  As  I  learn  that  it  is  not  probable  that  the  Georgia  will  sail 


146  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

from  Cherbourg  for  two  weeks,  and  the  Rappaha7inock  and 
Florida  will  be  detained  for  a  longer  period,  I  judge  this  to 
be  the  most  favorable  time  to  leave. 

"  All  information  that  will  reach  the  rebels  of  our  move- 
ments will  be  that  we  have  left  for  a  Channel  cruise.  I  ex- 
pect to  be  back  in  ten  or  twelve  days,  and  if  anything  of 
importance  transpires  in  the  interim,  I  will  be  pleased  to 
receive  telegraphic  information. 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  be 

'*  Your  obedient  servant, 

"  Jno.  a.  Winslow,  Captain. 
*'  Hon.  Wm.  L.  Dayton, 

"  Env.  Ext.  and  Min.  Plefi.  of  the  U.  S. 

"  U.  S.  S.  '■Kearsarge' 

"  Brest,  France, 

'^Decr.  20th,  1863. 

"Sir: 

"  Information  received  at  the  moment  of  leaving  has  led 
me  to  change  my  intention,  and  I  shall  wait  for  further  de- 
velopments. Mr.  Kinos  informs  me  that  the  Florida  has 
shipped  a  number  of  men  and  is  on  point  of  immediate 
departure.  It  was  supposed  that  her  machinery  would  re- 
quire another  examination,  but  I  learn  Comdr.  Barney  has 
determined  to  sail  without  further  delay.  As  he  has  just  re- 
turned from  Paris,  I  am  led  to  believe  that  an  arrangement 
has  been  made  by  him  and  the  Commanders  of  the  other 
rebel  vessels  for  a  concert  of  movement. 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  be 
"  Very  respectfully, 

"  Your  obedient  servant, 

"  Jno,  a.  Winslow,  Captain. 
"Hon.  Wm.  L.  Dayton, 

"  Env,  Ext.  and  Min.  Plen.  of  the  U.  S. 

"  i/.  S.  S.  ^Kearsarge' 

"  Brest,  France, 

"  Jan.  16th,  1864. 
"  Sir  : 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  inform  the  Department  that  the 
Florida  came  out  into  the  roads    on    the   26th   ult.,   making 


Escape  of  the  Georgia  and  Florida.     147 

every  preparation  for  an  early  departure,  as  it  was  reported. 
In  accordance  with  my  advice  to  the  Department  to  sail  in 
advance  of  her,  I  left  three  days  afterwards,  and  have  con- 
tinued until  to-day,  cruising  about  the  mouth  of  the  different 
entrances  to  this  port,  or  seeking  shelter  in  the  bays  of  the 
Island  of  Oussaint. 

"Yesterday  by  message  sent  to  the  American  Consular 
Agent,  I  learnt  that  the  trial  trip  of  the  Florida  on  the  8th 
inst.  had  been  very  unsatisfactory,  and  as  a  consequence, 
various  modifications  had  been  directed  which  would  occupy 
a  still  longer  period  before  she  can  be  ready  for  service.  I 
learnt  also,  that  most  of  the  officers  had  again  been  changed. 
Commander  Barney  had  been  relieved  by  Commander  Morris. 
"On  receiving  this  information  I  determined  to  enter  port, 
take  a  supply  of  water,  as  our  condensers  were  a  little  out  of 
order,  and  proceed  immediately  to  Cadiz  for  provisions.  I 
would  state  to  the  Department  that  neither  beef,  pork, 
tobacco,  or  some  other  articles  of  the  rations  can  be  procured 
here,  and  it  is  only  by  a  frugal  management  that  our  supplies 
have  lasted.  The  blockade  has,  however,  exhausted  all  but 
twelve  days'  provision, 

"  I  shall  leave  to-morrow  for  Cadiz,  and  return  as  soon  as 
practicable. 

."I  have  reason  to  think  that  the  rebel  cruisers  will  view  our 
departure  as  again  returning  to  blockade,  or  to  reconnoitre  in 
the  Channel. 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  be 
"Very  respectfully, 

"  Your  obedient  servant, 

"  Jno.  a.  Winslow,  Captain. 
"  Hon.  Gideon  Welles, 

"  Secretary  of  the  Navy, 

"  Washington,  D.  C. 

"  U.  S.  S.  ^Kearsarge,' 

"Cadiz,  Spain, 
"  February  ^th,  1864. 

"  Sir  : 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  receipt  of  copy  of  your 
letter  to  Mr.  Dayton,  affording  information   of  the  supposed 


148  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

design  of  the  Confederate  cruisers,  with  other  contents. 
Although  preparation  is  essential,  I  am  however,  not  disposed 
to  endorse  all  the  papers  may  say  of  what  is  to  be  done  by 
rebel  cruisers.  First  I  know  nothing  of  a  challenge,  and  inas- 
much as  we  had  been  for  some  time  blockading  Brest  and  our 
business  is  to  intercept  the  Florida  and  other  rebel  cruisers,  I 
can't  see  the  necessity  of  printed  bombast,  when,  at  any 
moment  they  desire,  a  meeting  with  this  ship  can  be  had. 
Again  in  response  to  a  communication  of  Consul  Putnam  in 
which  he  informed  me  of  having  seen  a  letter  from  a  Lieuten- 
ant of  the  Georgia  expressing  the  intention  of  rebels  to  com- 
bine for  the  capture  of  the  Kearsarge,  I  stated  to  him  that  no 
obstacle  would  be  thrown  in  the  way  of  the  Georgia's  and 
Florida's  junction  if  such  intention  was  honest. 

"  Some  repairs  to  the  machinery  of  this  vessel  will  detain  us 
here  longer  than  I  anticipated  and  I  cannot  expect  to  arrive 
in  Brest  before  the  i8th  inst. 

"  With  many  thanks  to  you  for  your  information, 
*'  I  am,  very  respectfully, 
"  Your  obedient  servant, 

"  Jno.  a.  Winslow,  Captain. 
"  F.  H.  Morse,  Esq., 
''  U.  S.  Consul, 
"  London." 

"  P.  S.  Should  we  find  on  our  return  to  Brest  that  the 
Florida's  armament  and  crew  have  been  increased,  it  would 
be  no  longer  prudent  to  permit  her  to  join  the  Georgia." 

Returning  now  to  private  letters  : 

"  U.  S.  S.  '  Kearsarf^e,^ 

"  Brest,  France, 

'■'■Dec.  20th,  i86j. 
"  .  .  .  I  am  just  on  the  point  of  sailing  for  Cadiz  to  get 
provisions,  as  we  are  out,  and  can  get  no  Salt  Beef,  Pork,  or 
Tobacco  in  France.  I  regret  to  go,  lest  the  Georgia  should 
come  out,  but  I  have  left  word  we  are  on  a  cruise,  and  they 
will  think  we  are  again  up  the  Channel.  But  we  want  sails, 
our  old  ones  are  worn  out,  and  I  wrote  home  in  June  for  a  new 


Escape  of  the  Georgia  and  Florida.     149 

set  which  were  left  in  Portsmouth,  and  I  am  in  hopes  the 
Storeship  at  Cadiz  has  brought  them.  It  is  the  best  time  for 
us  to  go,  as  from  all  I  can  learn  none  of  the  Confederate  vessels 
will  be  out  for  a  fortnight,  and  I  hope  to  be  back  then. 

"  I  suppose  you  will  see  in  the  papers  a  great  row  about  the 
Kearsarge  shipping  men  at  Cork  for  which  the  Secesh  in  Eng- 
land have  opened  upon  us  — but  they  were  hiders  in  the  hold 
,v;.c— and  we  took  them  back.  It  was  astonishing,  the  ship  was 
literally  crowded  up  with  men,  requesting  shipment,  and  so 
many  of  them  stowed  themselves  away  in  the  heavy  gale  at 
night,  and  went  to  sea  with  us.  I  see  only  a  telegram  in 
French  papers  that  Longstreet  has  been  repulsed  by  Burnside 
— and  Lee  has  fallen  back. 

"  I  am  plagued  to  death  about  the  correspondence  in  which 
the  Cork  men  have  involved  me. 

"  I  hear  Lord  Russell  has  issued  a  proclamation,  closing 
English  ports  to  American  and  Confederate  men-of-war.  It 
will  work  badly  for  the  "  Confeds  "—we  don't  want  to  use 
them.  Today  is  Sunday,  and  I  have  had  service  as  usual. 
They  say  the  Florida  is  to  be  pulled  to  pieces  again  —  I  don't 
think  she  will  go  out  of  this  Port  before  Spring— Barney  is  in 
Paris,  and  the  officers  don't  seem  to  like  again  going  out.  I 
should  think  the  '  Confeds  '  must  be  sick  and  tired  of  the  war, 
and  would  see  its  hopelessness " 

"  U.  S.  S.  '■Kearsarge,  Jan.  ist'  1S64, 

"  Off  Brest — at  night. 
"...  I  wrote  you  about  ten  days  ago  as  we  were  sail- 
ing for  Cadiz— but  as  we  were  about  leaving  I  learned  the 
Florida  would  certainly  come  out  in  a  few  days,  and  go  to  sea 
immediately,  so  I  was  compelled  to  change  our  destination 
and  wait.  The  Florida  at  last  did  come  out  in  the  roads,  and 
from  fear  that  she  would  get  to  sea  before  me,  and  we  could 
not  follow  her  for  twenty-four  hours,  I  sailed  on  the  21st  ulto., 
and  am  hovering  about  the  reefs,  and  small  islets  that  form  the 
mouth  of  the  bays  of  Brest.  The  weather  is  tempestuous, 
and  the  sea  tremendous.  The  North-West  winds  which  blow 
over  the  Atlantic  strike  this  point  of  Europe,  which  juts  out 
and  divides  the  wind,  one  part  blowing  in  the  Bay  of  Biscay, 


150  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

and  the  other  up  the  Channel,  and  bringing  over  the  whole 
sweep  of  the  sea — as  I  am  now  writing.  I  have  taken  a  refuge 
(a  poor  one  it  is)  behind  the  Island  of  Ushant — but  the  sea 
heaves  round  tremendously. 

"  There  is  a  poor  chance  for  us  to  catch  the  Florida — The 
current  runs  through  the  reefs  at  six  miles  an  hour— and  there 
are  two  channels  inside  of  us,  nearly  twenty  miles  apart,  either 
of  which  the  Florida  can  take — They  have  been  cunning 
enough  to  fill  up  with  coke,  which  shows  no  smoke,  and  there- 
fore at  night  they  may  come  out  easily  and  elude  us.  I  am 
heartily  tired,  first  at  the  almost  impossibility  of  capturing  her, 
and  next  at  the  tremendous  hard  service  in  the  blockade.  I 
have  now  a  lookout  on  the  Island  of  Ushant  to  inform  me  of 
events — while  I  was  in  Brest  I  would  get  telegrams  from  Cher- 
bourg or  Calais  if  the  Rappahannock  or  Georgia  sailed,  and 
then  sail  myself  to  head  them  off  coming  down  the  Channel, 
now  everything  is  changed,  and  they  may  get  off  without  my 
knowledge — but  one  ship  can't  look  out  for  three  vessels,  in 
different  places  —  although  Mr.  Welles  tells  the  merchants 
otherwise.  I  expect  to  go  into  Brest  again,  should  I  learn  the 
Florida  has  got  out,  coal,  to  Cadiz  for  provisions  and  then 
return  to  this  port  or  not,  as  circumstances  warrant." 

"  Jan,  2d. — Last  night  we  were  at  anchor  under  the  Island 
of  Ushant,  and  at  twelve  o'clock  were  driven  off  by  a  blow  and 
high  seas,  and  today  we  were  in  chase  of  two  French  Steamers, 
which  turned  out  a  useless  job  for  us.  I  was  going  back  to 
our  old  place  near  Ushant  this  morning,  after  an  Englishman 
informed  me  the  Florida  was  still  in  Brest,  but  hailing  me 
again,  he  informed  me  that  the  Federal  Steamer  was  in  there 
also,  she  must  have  passed  us  in  the  blow — but  I  don't  know 
if  he  were  lying  or  not,  however  I  will  run  in  close  to  night 
and  endeavor  to  ascertain  or  communicate  with  her.  You 
must  not  expect  any  regularity  in  my  letters,  as  it  is  all  chance 
my  having  an  opportunity  to  send  them.  I  think  of  sending 
this  in  to-night,  in  hopes  of  getting  letters  and  news,  which  I 
would  like  to  inform  you  of,  should  they  effect  my  move- 
ments— I  am  anxious  to  know  what  we  are  to  do  by  the  order 
of  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy.     .     .     ." 


Escape  of  the  Georgia  and  Florida.     1 5 1 

After  the  Kearsarge  sailed  for  Cadiz,  the  French 
Government  issued  mandatory  instructions  to  its 
port  officials  to  compel  Federal  and  Confederate 
vessels  to  leave  port  within  twenty-four  hours  of 
the  completion  of  necessary  repairs.  The  addi- 
tional repairs  on  the  Floridas  machinery  were 
completed  on  the  9th  of  February.  Her  com- 
mander was  peremptorily  ordered  by  the  Admiral 
of  the  Port  of  Brest  to  leave  within  twenty-four 
hours.  There  is  nothing  in  the  official  correspond- 
ence between  Lieutenant-Commander  Morris  and 
the  Confederate  agents,  or  in  the  log  of  iV^  Florida 
at  this  time,  to  indicate  that  the  absence  of  the  Kear- 
sarge from  the  blockade  was  known.  On  the  con- 
trary, Lieutenant-Commander  Morris  writes  to  Flag 
Officer  Barron  :  "  Under  the  circumstances  it  is  of 
the  greatest  importance  that  I  should  leave  before 
daylight."  The  Florida  sailed  from  Brest  at  2 
A.M.,  February  loth,  under  cover  not  only  of  dark- 
ness but  of  thick,  stormy  weather.  The  Georgia, 
subjected  to  the  same  governmental  pressure,  left 
Cherbourg  on  the  i6th. 

"  U.  S.  S.  '^ Kearsarge' 

"  Cadiz,  Feb.  6,  1864. 
"...  We  have  already  completed  all  our  little  repairs 
(steam-engines  are  always  out  of  order),  and  shall  return  to 
Brest  about  the  nth  inst.  I  have  had  several  letters  from  our 
Consuls  and  Ministers  about  the  preparations  made  by  the 
Rebels  for  the  Capture  of  the  Kearsarge,  but  I  think  we  can 
manage  our  own  business.  The '  London  Times '  comes  out  with 
a  challenge  for  us,  the  first  intimation  I  had,  after  getting  to 
Cadiz.  But  I  had  written  Mr.  Putnam  to  announce  that  I 
would  permit  a  juncture  of  the  Florida  and  Georgia,  if  they 
would  pledge  themselves  that  they  were  honest.     I  have  now 


152  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

letters  that  show  the  rebels  are  offering  large  rewards  ($150 
apiece)  for  men  to  volunteer  to  attack  the  Kearsarge. 

"  Mr.  Morse  writes  they  have  150  more  men  in  the  Florida^ 
and  two  new  Steel  Blakely  guns,  &c.  Mr.  Dayton  says  "  be  on 
your  guard."  I  wrote  back  fudge  !  I  believe  however  they  are 
doing  all  they  can,  but  I  think  we  can  look  out  for  ourselves. 

"  I  hear,  at  last  Mr,  Welles  is  going  to  send  some  vessels  out 
here,  it  is  about  time.  We  have  kept  the  rebels  from  burning 
vessels  in  the  British  Channel — but  if  they  come  out,  and 
destroy  property,  Mr.  Welles  may  have  a  hornet  about  his  ears 
in  the  merchants.  Singular  that  the  whole  Confederate  Navy 
are  to  remain  on  the  European  Coast,  without  vessels  to  look 
after  them.  I  see  you  have  been  having  very  cold  weather  at 
home  ;  it  must  be  trying  for  the  Army.  The  appearance  of 
things  at  home  does  not  look  promising.     .     .     ." 

"  U.  S.  S.  '^ Kearsarge' 

"Cadiz,  Feb.  J2,  1864. 

" .  .  .  Boston  papers,  received  to-day,  mention  the  sail- 
ing of  the  Sacramento  on  the  22ult,  although  she  is  coming 
here,  she  is  not  our  relief.  I  am  in  hopes  we  shall  get  the 
Florida  or  something  before  our  return  home.     .     .     ." 

"  U.  S.  S.  'Kearsarge,' 

"  Brest,  Feb'y  ig,  1864. 
" .  .  .  We  arrived  here  yesterday  four  days  from  Cadiz 
— found  the  Florida  gone — she  went  to  sea  at  night,  escaping 
by  the  Southern  passage,  supposing  that  we  were  blockading 
the  main  entrance.  She  left  in  consequence  of  the  order, 
issued  by  the  French  Government,  similar  to  the  proclamation 
of  the  Queen  of  England,  forbidding  Northern  and  Southern 
vessels  to  remain  in  port  after  24  hours — it  was  served  on  us 
today,  and  we  go  to  sea  tomorrow.  I  received  a  telegram 
today,  that  the  Georgia  sailed  two  days  ago  from  Brest  [Cher- 
bourg], and  the  Rappahannock  is  soon  to  follow  ;  I  shall  go  up 
the  channel  as  far  as  Calais,  and  after  hovering  about  to  catch 
either  of  them  should  they  remain,  proceed  as  information 
may  direct.  It  is  very  cold  and  our  men  suffer  very  much  so 
far  north.  You  have  no  idea  what  a  flurry  my  numerous  and 
constant  correspondence  keeps  me  in  and  I  have  so  much  to 
attend  to  besides." 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

THE    BLOCKADE    OF    THE    RAPPAHANNOCK 

AS  the  vessels  building  for  the  Confederacy  at 
Bordeaux,  Nantes  and  Liverpool  were  all 
several  months  from  completion,  the  Kearsarge 
could  now  devote  her  whole  attention  for  a  time  to 
the  Rappahannock.  Accordingly,  she  took  her 
station  in  the  Channel  off  Calais,  using  Boulogne 
or  Dover  as  harbors  of  refuge  when  necessary  on 
account  of  weather. 


"  U.  S.  S.  'Kearsarge' 

"  Boulogne-sur-Mer, 

' '  March  4,  1864. 
" .  .  .  I  had  just  written  "  My  dear  Sir "  instead  of 
.  .  .  so  much  is  my  mind  occupied,  with  so  many  and 
various  calls  to  attend  to — to  give  you  an  idea,  I  was  dining 
with  an  American  gentleman,  who  has  a  chateau  here,  Mr.  Jas. 
Brown,  and  while  at  table  I  was  three  times  called  out,  twice 
by  telegrams  and  once  by  a  gentleman  in  person.  We  have 
numerous  spies  and  the  Confederates  use  the  same  means  also 
for  information.  Morse,  our  consul  in  London,  has  a  legion 
in  his  employ.  The  Florida  is  somewhere  north  or  hiding  in 
the  channel.  The  Rappahannock  is  about  coming  out  and  I  am 
using  all  exertions  to  discover  the  time, — and  the  whereabouts 
of  the  Florida — the  Georgia  is  also  somewhere  in  the  vicinity. 
But  all  my  endeavors  have  come  to  nothing  as  yet. 

"  We  have  had  a  perfect  ovation  at  this  place.     It  is  the 

153 


154  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

great  watering  place  of  France  and  where  Napoleon  assembled 
his  great  army  to  invade  England.  A  column  commemorates 
the  event.  A  fine  town  filled  with  English  secessionists  ;  but 
our  ship  is  crowded,  and  so  polite  are  we,  that  every  day  we 
see  in  London  and  Boulogne  papers  complimentary  articles 
about  the  ship  and  officers.  Yesterday  an  English  boat  with 
company,  including  seven  ladies,  came  :  we  were  coaling* 
decks  covered  with  coal — told  them  so.  They  would  not  take 
no  for  an  answer  and  aboard  they  came.  We  treated  them  so 
well,  they  all  cheered  us,  and  our  crew  returned  it. 

"  The  Admiral  is  a  bitter  secessionist,  so  Mr.  Brown  informed 
me.  Today  it  rains,  or  we  were  to  have  had  more  admirals, 
more  colonels  and  majors  with  their  wives  and  daughters,  than 
we  had  room  for.     Frenchmen  also  by  the  dozens. 

"  When  I  was  at  Dover  it  was  bad  weather,  no  sooner  was 
the  anchor  dropped  than  off  came  me  lords  so  and  so  sending 
their  cards  and  all  went  away  pleased,  begging  me  to  call  at 
their  residences. 

*'  English  ladies  also,  who  rowed  their  boats  right  out  in  the 
channel,  coming  aboard  and  making  the  best  of  the  worst 
weather.  We  have  taken  in  coal  and  by  the  24  hour  order, 
I  must  go  to  sea  tonight. 

"  I  shall  be  off  Calais  tomorrow,  under  Danish  colors  and 
communicate  with  a  spy  on  shore.  Then  to  Hastings  or 
Dover, 

"  I  had  no  time  to  go  on  shore  when  at  Dover  last,  the  sea 
was  rough  and  I  was  waiting  telegrams.  .  .  .  Strange  the 
Government  will  not  send  ships  here. 

"  The  Alabama  is  coming  here,  Semmes  is  in  Paris,  a  gentle- 
man saw  him  there  last  week.  If  we  had  had  more  ships  here, 
we  certainly  could  have  got  the  Georgia  or  Florida.'" 

"6^.  S.  S.  ^ Kcarsarge^ 
"  Okf  Dover, 

"  Mar.  i8th,  1S64. 

** .  .  .  You  can  have  no  idea  what  a  season  we  have  had 
in  the  channel  since  November  ;  it  has  been  the  severest  for 
blows  and  cold  ever  known  here,  and  in  consequence  of  the 
twenty-four  hour  law,  we  are  forced  to  keep  running  about  for 


The  Blockade  of  the  Rappahannock.  155 

shelter  from  the  storms,  by  getting  under  a  lee.  When  it 
blows  from  the  French  side,  we  have  to  go  over  there,  and 
when  it  blows  from  the  English  side,  back  we  go  for  the  same 
reason.  This  is  the  first  moderate  day  I  have  seen  for  two 
weeks. 

"  A  week  ago,  I  left  the  Downs,  which  is  inside  of  the 
Goodwin  sands,  for  Dover,  it  being  necessary  to  leave  the 
Downs  from  the  wind  shifting;  a  few  hours,  wind  again 
shifted  and  blowing  away,  we  had  to  go  back  again,  passing 
the  Downs,  we  entered  the  mouth  of  the  Thames  and  anchored 
off  Margate  ; — blowing  a  gale  all  day.  Next  day  back  again 
to  Dover,  wind  hove  to  again,  heavy  sea  coming  in  twelve 
hours  afterwards,  away  we  went  back  to  the  Downs  and  last 
night  again  returned  to  Dover. 

"  An  English  Lieutenant,  from  the  Admiral  at  Sheerness, 
ordering  us  not  to  take  in  coals,  etc.,  but  once  in  three  months, 
within  three  miles  of  the  coast,  chased  us  to  Margate,  then  to 
Dover,  and  got  aboard  of  us  at  Deal.  All  this  time  I  have  to 
keep  up  constant  communication  with  spies,  to  learn  the  least 
movement  of  the  Rappahannock.  There  is  nothing  but  rain 
and  fog  here,  and  the  Rappahatinock  may  come  out  any  time, 
and  we  can't  see  her  a  length  ahead  of  us.  I  have  sent  up  to 
London  to  charter  a  small  steamer,  which  will  act  as  a  spy  on 
her  movements,  for  our  telegraph  and  letter  communication 
are  all  known  to  them. 

"  You  know  Dover  is  a  great  place  for  fortifications,  etc., 
and  the  whole  of  this  coast  seems  covered  with  old  castles. 
The  English  officers  have  been  on  board  and  invited  us  every- 
where. Today  I  have  begged  to  be  excused,  but  I  have  let 
the  other  officers  go  on  shore  to  dine  at  ^  past  seven  o'clock 
and  afterwards  to  an  evening  concert  given  by  the  English 
officers.     ... 

"  Mr.  Adams  has  sent  me  word  that  the  Niagara  and  Van- 
derbilt  are  coming  to  relieve  us.  Now  '  the  horse  is  out,  the 
stable  is  locked  !  '  We  should  have  got  the  Georgia  had  we 
had  another  steamer. 

"  People,  inexperienced,  have  little  idea  what  it  is  to  block- 
ade such  a  place  as  Brest.      And   here   in   the  channel    the 


156  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

current  is  running  2^  miles  an  hour,  a  reef  of  rock  right  in  the 
center,  of  several  miles  extent,  nothing  but  thick  foggy 
weather,  etc.  .  .  .  constantly  wanting  coal,  to  obtain 
which  we  are  obliged  to  order  some  vessel  to  meet  us  in  mid- 
channel,  or  at  some  point  on  the  coast  of  France,  and  perhaps 
find  the  storms  have  prevented  her  from  reaching  it,  or  else 
the  sea  too  rough  for  her  to  come  near  us.  Last  time  '  the 
good  God,'  as  the  French  pilot  says,  '  favored  us,'  and  the  sea 
was  smooth  enough  for  us  to  coal  three  miles  off  Boulogne, 
but  owing  to  the  rain  and  fog,  our  coal  was  so  wet,  that  all 
yesterday  and  today  spontaneous  combustion  is  going  on  in 
our  bunkers  and  we  may  be  burned  up,  or  have  to  throw  the 
coal  overboard,  after  all  the  hard  work  we  had  to  get  it.  I 
am  very  economical,  but  we  must  work  engines  in  the  channel. 
"  Reports  from  the  United  States  are  unfavorable,  appear- 
ances unpromising.  ,  .  .  When  I  left  Brest  rumors  were 
prevalent  that  the  Georgia  and  Florida  were  at  Cherbourg. 
American  vessels  afraid  to  go  out.  I  went  from  place  to 
place,  where  the  Georgia  was  reported  to  be,  and  not  finding 
her,  ordered  the  vessels  to  go  out.  The  reports  had  been 
spread  falsely  by  spies.     ..." 

This  persistent  blockade  was  greatly  disconcert- 
ing the  Confederate  agents.  The  Georgia  was 
hovering  about  awaiting  a  chance  to  meet  the 
Rappahannock  at  some  appointed  rendezvous  and 
make  a  general  transfer,  but  the  commander  of  the 
latter  expressed  himself  as  having  scarcely  one 
chance  in  ten  of  making  a  successful  sortie  from 
Calais.  The  annoyance  caused  by  the  Kearsarge 
to  Confederate  agents  was  soon  reflected  by  their 
partisans  in  the  British  Parliament  and  reacted 
upon  her  in  the  official  treatment  received  in 
British  ports. 


The  Blockade  of  the  Rappahannock.  157 

"6^.  S.  S.  ''Kearsarge^ 

"  Ofi-  Dover,  England, 

"  March  21st,  1864. 

"  Sir  : 

"I  have  the  honor  to  inform  the  Department,  that  after 
leaving  Brest  we  continued  for  some  days  to  cruise  from 
point  to  point  in  hopes  of  falling  in  with  the  Georgia  or 
Florida.  Reports  everywhere  reached  us  that  these  vessels 
still  remained  in  the  Channel.  On  our  arrival  at  Cherbourg, 
we  found  several  American  vessels  had  sought  safety  in  the 
harbor  to  escape  the  Georgia^  which  cruiser  was  said  to  be 
lying  under  Cape  Barfieur.  I  immediately  proceeded  to  that 
point,  proved  the  falsity  of  the  report,  and  returned  to  Cher- 
bourg to  give  the  information. 

*'  Leaving  Cherbourg  for  Dover,  reports  were  again  brought 
to  us  that  the  Florida  was  off  the  coast  of  France,  and  on  our 
arrival  in  the  roads  off  Boulogne  in  search  of  her,  a  person 
calling  himself  an  agent  of  our  Consul  at  London,  affirmed 
positively  that  in  two  or  three  days  he  would  give  us  informa- 
tion of  her  position.  The  man  knew  too  much,  and  although 
a  telegram  was  received  from  London  that  he  was  true,  I  soon 
satisfied  them  that  he  was  a  rebel  spy,  and  the  various  reports 
had  been  circulated  to  draw  us  off  from  watching  the  Rappa- 
hannock. The  appearance  of  the  Florida  at  Madeira  has  set 
at  rest  all  these  reports,  and  we  are  left  at  liberty  to  direct  our 
whole  attention  to  the  Rappahannock. 

**  I  have  to  inform  the  Department,  that  the  season  has 
been  of  unusual  severity,  and  we  have  been  driven  from  point 
to  point  from  England  to  France  to  take  shelter  under  any 
headland  that  afforded  us  a  lee. 

"  The  mode  adopted  to  intercept  has  been  at  such  times  at 
night  when  the  tide  served  (as  she  can  only  come  out  of  the 
inner  harbor  of  Calais  near  high  water)  is  to  lie  off  the  port 
with  our  lights  out  waiting  her  departure.  Such,  however,  is 
the  thick  and  foggy  weather  of  the  Channel,  that  there  is 
every  reason  to  apprehend  that  the  Rappahannock^  pursuing 
the  same  plan  as  we  adopt,  would  escape  us.  I  have  thought 
it  best,  therefore,   and  at  the  instance  of   Mr.  Adams   and 


158  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

Morse,  have  hired  a  small  steamer  at  ten  (10)  pounds  per  day, 
which  vessel  secretly  will  keep  watch  upon  her,  follow  and 
signalize  her  departure  to  us.  This  plan,  should  we  be  able 
to  keep  the  Kearsarge  supplied  with  coal,  which  the  twenty- 
four  hour  law  denies  to  us  in  port,  will  no  doubt  eventuate  in 
her  capture, 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  be, 
"  Very  respectfully, 

"  Your  obedient  servant, 

"  Jno.  a.  Winslow,  Captain. 


Hon,  Gideon  Welles, 
"  Washington,  D,  C. 


"£/^.  S.  S.  ''Kearsarge^ 
"  Dover  Roads,  Eng,, 

' '  March  2jd,  1864. 


"  Sir  : 

"  You  will  please   inform  the  Masters  of  American  vessels 

in  your  port,  that  there  is  not  the  slightest  danger  to  fear  from 

the  Rappahannock.     This  vessel  cannot  come  out  of  Calais, 

without  the  chances  are  such  as  almost  to  insure  her  capture. 

"  Very  respectfully, 

"Your  obedient  servant, 

Jno.  a.  Winslow. 
"  To  U.  S.  Consuls  at 

"  Bremen,  Ger.,  Ostend  and  Antwerp,  Belg." 

"6^.  S.  S.  '' Kearsa^-gc," 

"  April  6th,  1864. 

"  Sir  : 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  inform  you,  that  owing  to  the  con- 
tinuous length  of  time  which  it  has  been  necessary  to  keep  the 
Kearsarge  ready  with  steam,  in  cruising  in  the  Channel,  that 
her  boilers  were  in  that  state  which  required  that  the  fires 
should  be  hauled,  and  certain  repairs  made. 

"  A  letter  was  addressed  to  you  that  an  application  in  ac- 
cordance with  Her  Majesty's  Neutrality  proclamation  might 
be  made  to  the  Government  to  authorize  this  work. 

"  I  have  received  no  response  to  this  application,  but  the 
repairs  being  such  as  the  crew  of  this  vessel  could  make,  and 


The  Blockade  of  the  Rappahannock.  159 

the  principal  object  being  to  obtain  a  sheltered  harbor,  the 
work  has  been  completed  and  I  shall  proceed  immediately  to 
sea.  The  only  article  obtained  has  been  a  spar  with  such 
small  requirements  supplied  as  is  always  incidental  to  a  steam 
vessel.  "  I  have  the  honor  to  be, 

"  Very  respectfully  &c 

"  J  NO.  A.  WiNSLOW,  Captain. 
"  Hon.  Chas.  Francis  Adams, 
"  Env.  Ext.  and  M in.  Flen." 

"  Legation  of  the  United  States, 

"  London,  6  April,  1864. 
"  Sir  : 

"  I  regret  to  be  compelled  to  inform  you  that  Her  Majesty's 
Government  in  reply  to  my  application  for  permission  to  the 
Kearsarge  to  remain  here  for  the  completion  of  some  repairs, 
has  taken  exception  to  this  sudden  manner  in  which  the  vessel 
has  been  brought  here  and  put  into  dock,  before  notice  given 
or  any  discretion  exercised  about  allowing  time  for  an  answer. 
I  am  obliged  to  admit  that  there  has  been  an  amission  of 
courtesy  in  this  respect  which  is  embarassing.  There  has  also 
been  some  disposition  to  object  to  your  use  of  the  harbors  on 
this  side  as  a  base  of  hostilities,  which  I  desire  to  mention  for 
the  sake  of  putting  you  on  your  guard  against  giving  causes  of 
offense.  As  I  do  not  understand  his  Lordship  as  giving  the 
permission  asked  for,  I  regret  to  be  constrained  to  request 
you  to  proceed  to  sea  without  delay,  whether  the  repairs  be 
completed  or  not.         "  I  have  the  honor  to  be, 

Sir, 
"Your  obedient  servant, 

"  Charles  Francis  Adams. 
•*  Capt.  J.  A.  WiNSLOW,  U.  S.  N., 
"  Comdg.  U.  S.  S.  Kearsarge.'^ 

"6''.  S.  S.  'Kearsarge,''  . 

''April  6th,  1864. 

"Sir: 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  receipt  of  your  letter  of 
this  day  date. 

"  I  would  beg  leave  to   reply,  that  in  my  view,  I   find  no 


i6o  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

cause  for  which  Her  Majesty's  Government  could  justly  insti- 
tute a  complaint  against  this  ship  for  entering  the  Victoria 
Docks. 

"  An  application  was  forwarded  from  Dover  roads,  stating 
the  necessity  and  requesting  permission  for  repairs.  This  was 
done  as  a  matter  of  etiquette  and  respect  to  the  government 
of  Her  Majesty  ;  but  the  right  was  clearly  granted  by  Her  Ma- 
jesty's proclamation  of  February  ist,  1862,  which  is  as  follows  : 

"  '  If  any  ship-of-war  or  privateer  of  either  belligerent  shall, 
after  the  time  when  this  order  shall  be  first  notified  and  put  in 
force  in  the  United  Kingdom  and  in  the  Channel  islands,  and 
in  the  several  colonies,  and  foreign  possessions  and  depend- 
encies of  her  Majesty  respectively,  enter  any  port,  roadstead, 
or  waters  belonging  to  her  Majesty,  either  in  the  United  King- 
dom or  in  the  Channel  islands,  or  in  any  of  her  Majesty's 
colonies,  or  foreign  possessions,  or  dependencies,  such  vessel 
shall  be  required  to  depart  and  to  put  to  sea  within  twentyfour 
hours  after  her  entrance  into  such  port,  roadstead,  or  waters,  ex- 
cept in  case  of  stress  of  weather,  or  of  her  requiring  provisions 
or  things  necessary  for  the  subsistence  of  her  crew,  or  repairs.' 

"  This  acknowledges  and  endorses  the  right  of  a  ship-of-war 
belonging  to  the  United  States  to  enter  any  port  in  England 
for  the  purpose  of  repair,  and  if  I  am  wrong  in  the  construc- 
tion of  language,  in  which  the  sense  is  so  apparent,  it  would 
seem  no  more  than  right  to  ask  from  her  Majesty's  govern- 
ment an  explanatory  construction. 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  be, 
"  Most  respectfully, 
"  Your  obedient  servant, 

"  Jno.  a.  Winslow,  Captain. 
"  Hon.  Chas.  Francis  Adams, 

"  Env.  Ext.  and  M in.  Plen.  of  the  U.  S." 

"f/.  S.  S.  'K'carsarge,'' 
Victoria  (London)  Docks, 

"  Apail  yth,  1864. 

"  Sir  : 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  inform  the  Department,  that  it  became 
necessary  from  the  state  of  machinery  and  foulness  of  the  bet- 


The  Blockade  of  the  Rappahannock.  i6i 

torn  of  this  vessel,  to  make  a  sheltered  harbor  for  examination. 
I  accordingly  left  Dover  roads  for  the  nearest  port,  and  en- 
tered tlie  Victoria  docks  in  the  Thames  the  31st  March,  The 
bottom  having  been  examined  and  cleaned,  and  the  necessary- 
repairs  made,  I  shall  sail  again  this  day  to  take  up  my  station 
in  the  Channel. 

"  I  enclose  copy  of  the  report  of  the  Chief  Engineer  of  this 
vessel  of  repairs  completed. 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  be, 
"  Very  respectfully, 

"  Your  obedient  servant, 
"  To  the  *'  Jno,  a.  Winslow,  Captain. 

"  Hon.  Gideon  Welles, 
"  Secretary  of  the  JVavy, 
"  Washington,  D.  C." 

'^  U.  S.  S.  '  KearsargeC 

"Victoria  (London)  Docks, 

' '  April  yih,  1864. 
"Sir: 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  enclose  copy  of  correspondence  with 
Mr.  Adams,  U,  S.  Minister  at  London. 

"  The  Department  will  see,  that  this  ship  is  forbidden  to  lay 
at  the  roadsteads  of  the  Downs  and  Dover  ;  and  the  deter- 
mination of  the  English  government  to  shut  her  off  from 
running  under  the  headlands,  which  has  afforded  the  only 
partial  lee,  for  escape  from  the  blows  in  the  Channel. 

"  I  have  already  been  informed  by  the  French  authorities, 
that  I  could  not  lay  outside  of  any  ports  of  France,  for  a 
longer  period  than  twenty-four  hours,  and  this  coast  does  not 
afford  that  shelter  which  the  headlands  of  England  offer. 

"  Under  these  circumstances,  as  the  shoals  in  the  Channel, 
with  the  strong  current  and  fogs,  render  it  dangerous  to  keep 
between  them,  I  shall  be  compelled  to  make  Ostend  as  the 
nearest  port  or  some  other,  and  use  such  efforts  at  the  time  as 
will  afford  the  most  reasonable  prospect  of  intercepting  the 
Rappahannock. 

"  I  have  been  satisfied,  that  with  the  aid  of  the  Annette 
(the  small  chartered  steamer),  we  should  have  been  able  to 


i62  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

overhaul  this  vessel  shortly  after  her  departure  ;  but  the  re- 
quest of  Mr.  Adams,  on  the  complaint  of  Earl  Russel,  not  to 
make  Dover  roads  a  basis  of  operations,  will  compel  us  to  use 
other  means  for  this  object. 

"  The  chartered  steamer  Annette  has  been  of  great  service, 
and  from  secret  information  received,  she  proceeded  to  Dun- 
kirk and  Ostend  ;  relieved  some  thirteen  American  ships, 
which  were  shut  up  from  fear  of  the  Rappahannock ;  discov- 
ered at  last  that  the  French  luggers  Jerome  and  Imperial  with 
ammunition,  and  some  guns,  was  no  myth,  but  under  assumed 
names  were  lying  at  Ostend  ;  and  has  obtained  other  valuable 
information. 

"The  French  government  having  ordered  the  seizure  of  the 
Rappahannock^  I  deemed  it  expedient  to  inform  Mr.  Morse, 
that  I  should  not  continue  the  charter  ;  but  his  opinion,  based 
on  information  from  secret  agents,  that  the  Rappahannock 
would  shortly  be  released,  may  modify  this  determination.  In 
the  meantime  he  has  assumed  the  charter  for  the  interest  of 
the  State  Department. 

"  Mr.  Morse  informs  me  that  the  Georgia' s  arrival  at  Bor- 
deaux was  not  in  consequence  of  repairs  required,  but  that 
she  had  two  guns,  with  other  material  for  the  Rappahannock  ; 
her  object  was  communication  :  and  he  has  secret  information 
that  she  will  return  in  the  Channel  to  some  appointed  rendez- 
vous for  meeting  the  Rappahannock. 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  be 
"  Very  respectfully 

"Your  obedient  servant 
"  To  the  "  J  NO.  A.  Winslow  Captain. 

"  Hon.  Gideon  Welles, 
'*  Secretary  of  the  Navy, 
"  Washington,  D.  C." 

"Legation  of  the  United  States, 

"London,  8 April,  1864. 
"  Sir  : 

"  I  have  received  your  letter  of  the  6th  instant,  and  noted 
its  contents. 

"  It  must  be  obvious  to  you  that  the  Queen's  Proclamation 


The  Blockade  of  the  RappaJimtnock.  163 

draws  a  clear  distinction  between  the  entry  of  a  belligerent 
vessel,  into  port  for  twenty-four  hours,  which  is  a  right  con- 
ceded, and  the  permission  to  remain  longer  on  assigning  a  spe- 
cific reason  among  those  enumerated.  Unless  such  reason  be 
presented,  the  British  Government  could  have  no  means  of 
carrying  into  effect  its  restriction  upon  the  stay  of  any  vessel 
just  so  long  as  the  Commander  might  please  to  keep  her.  On 
the  other  hand,  if  it  be  bound  to  require  the  departure  of 
every  such  vessel  in  twenty-four  hours,  unless  there  be  reason 
to  the  contrary,  it  follows  of  course  that  the  party  requiring 
an  extension  of  time  must  give  reasons  for  wishing  it.  The 
Government  must  necessarily  have  the  right  of  judging  of  the 
goodness  of  those  reasons,  or  the  restriction  will  be  of  no  avail. 

"  In  all  cases  of  this  kind  it  is  important  to  keep  an  eye  on 
the  hearing  of  an  argument,  in  the  event  of  a  future  reversal 
of  the  position  of  the  respective  parties  in  action.  I  am  very 
clear  that  the  Government  of  the  United  States  would  never 
permit  any  officer  of  a  foreign  nation  to  judge  for  himself 
whether  or  not  he  has  a  right  to  neglect  the  conditions  they 
may  be  pleased  to  make  as  to  his  entry  into  their  ports. 

"  Hereafter  should  you  find  it  necessary  to  visit  any  port  in 
this  kingdom  for  any  purpose  requiring  a  longer  stay  than 
twenty-four  hours,  I  must  ask  it  of  you  that  you  give  me  full 
notice  of  your  arrival,  in  season  to  make  application  for  per- 
mission, and  that  you  do  not  avail  yourself  of  any  privilege 
secured  by  the  Proclamation  unless  it  be  in  cases  of  extreme 
necessity,  until  you  shall  receive  notice  from  me  that  such 
permission  has  been  obtained.     ..." 

From  Minister  Adams;  signature  sheet  missing. 

*'  U.  S.  S.  ' Kearsarge,^ 

"  Off  Ambleteuse,  France, 

'^  April  loth,  1S64. 
"  Sir  : 

"I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  receipt  of  your  letter  of 
the  8th  inst. 

"  In  response  I  would  beg  leave  to  say,  that  your  request 
shall  be  fully  complied  with,  though  I  feel  it  my  duty  to  state, 
that  I  have  only  made  use  of  the  headlands  on  the  English 


164  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

coast  for  a  lee,  and  the  exclusion  to  this  ship  of  this  shelter, 
must  necessarily  act  materially  against  the  chances  of  her  in- 
tercepting the  Rappahannock. 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  be,    most  respectfully, 
"  Your  obedient  servant 

"  Jno.  a.  Winslow,  Captain. 
"  Hon.  Charles  Francis  Adams, 

"  Env.  Ext.  and  Min.  Plen.  of  the  U.  S.  " 

"  (7.  S.  S.  'Kearsarge^ 
"  Off  Ambleteuse,  P^rance, 

' '  April  12th,  1864. 

"  Sir  : 

"  Certain  parts  of  your  letter  to  me  of  the  8th  inst.  are  rather 
of  obscure  significance,  which  I  will  be  obliged  to  you  for  ex- 
planation. You  say,  '  Hereafter,  should  you  find  it  necessary 
to  visit  any  port  in  this  Kingdom,  requiring  a  longer  stay  than 
twenty-four  hours,  I  must  ask  it  of  you,  that  you  give  me  full 
notice  of  your  arrival,  in  season  to  make  application  for  per- 
mission ;  and  that  you  do  not  avail  yourself  of  any  privilege 
secured  by  the  Proclamation,  unless  it  be  in  cases  of  extreme 
necessity,  until  you  shall  receive  notice  from  me  that  such 
permission  has  been  obtained.' 

"  By  the  construction  put  upon  the  Proclamation  as  ex- 
pressed in  your  letter  in  the  antecedent,  your  intention  may 
be  to  signify  your  conviction,  that  this  ship  has  no  right  to  en- 
ter a  port  in  the  English  dominions,  without  permission. 

"  To  my  mind  it  comes  under  a  privilege  secured  by  the 
Proclamation,  and  to  comply  with  it  would  be  to  shut  off  the 
coast  of  England  from  shelter  to  us  ;  for  it  is  obvious  to  you 
that  we  cannot  give  to  you  previous  notice.  I  would  there- 
fore beg  leave  to  ask  whether  I  am  right  in  the  construction. 

"  A  letter  addressed  to  Dover,  care  Consular  Agent,  will 
reach  me.  "  I  have  the  honor  to  be 

"  Very  respectfully 

"Your  obedient  servant 

"Jno.  a.  Winslow,  Captain. 
"  Hon.  Charles  Francis  Adams, 

"  Env.  Ext.  and  Min.  Plen.  of  the  U.  S.  " 


The  Blockade  of  the  Rappahartiiock,  165 

"  Legation  of  the  United  States, 

"  London,  ik  April,  1864. 
"  Sir  : 

"  I  have  received  your  letter  of  the  12th  instant  asking  me 
for  an  explanation  of  a  passage  in  my  letter  of  the  8th  which 
seems  to  you  difficult  to  understand. 

"  I  am  very  happy  to  furnish  any  elucidation  of  it  in  my 
power. 

"  I  am  not  aware  of  having  given  any  cause  for  the  inference 
which  you  draw  from  my  language,  that '  your  ship  has  no  right 
to  enter  a  port  in  the  English  dominons  without  permission.' 

"  The  right  of  entrance  and  stay  in  a  British  Port  is  no- 
where disputed.  But  so  long  as  the  parties  to  this  war  are 
recognized  as  belligerents,  the  British  Government  has  by  pro- 
clamation restricted  this  right  to  a  period  of  twenty-four 
hours.  After  that  time  has  elapsed  permission  to  remain 
longer  may  be  obtained  for  causes  assigned.  These  causes 
are  specified  in  the  Proclamation. 

"  My  intention  in  writing  as  I  did  to  you  was  to  say  that 
whenever  it  was  in  your  power  to  give  notice  of  your  desire  to 
avail  yourself  of  the  privileges  granted  for  any  of  those  causes, 
you  should  do  so  in  good  season  for  me  to  make  application 
in  your  behalf.  The  exception  which  I  made  of  extreme  ne- 
cessity referred  to  the  possibility  of  your  being  driven  in  by 
stress  of  weather  or  other  imminent  danger  to  the  safety  of 
your  vessel,  which  might  render  previous  notice  impossible. 
Even  in  these  cases,  however,  it  may  be  well  for  you  to  give 
me  the  earliest  notice  possible  after  your  arrival. 
"  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  Sir, 

"Your  obedient  servant, 
"  Capt.  "  Charles  Francis  Adams. 

"  J.  A.  WiNSLOW, 

"  Comdg.  U,  S.  S.  '  Kearsarge.''  " 

"  Navy  Department, 

"  Washington, 
"'April  2jrd,  1864. 

"  Sir  : 

"  Your  despatch  of  the  7th  instant  enclosing  the  corre- 
spondence between  yourself  and  Mr.  Adams,  has  been  received 


1 66  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

at  this  Department.  I  have  also  received  from  the  Secretary 
of  State  copies  of  the  correspondence  transmitted  to  the  Gov- 
ernment by  our  Minister  at  London,  who  also  forwards  a 
newspaper  slip  containing  what  purports  to  be  a  letter  ad- 
dressed by  yourself  to  the  Marquis  of  Clanricarde  under  date 
of  April  6th.  Mr.  Adams  feels  that  he  is  embarrassed  in  his 
official  relations  by  the  irregular  communication  referred  to, 
and  by  your  course  in  overstaying  the  permitted  time  without 
leave  properly  obtained. 

"  The  papers  have  been  submitted  to  the  President  who,  ap- 
preciating your  zeal  in  the  service,  is  nevertheless  convinced 
that  your  proceedings  tend  to  embarrass  our  Minister  in  the 
conduct  of  his  difficult  and  responsible  position.  I  am  there- 
fore directed  to  communicate  to  you  these  views  of  the  Presi- 
dent and  to  enjoin  upon  you  to  refrain  from  a  renewal  or 
recurrence  of  the  proceedings. 

"  The  distinctions  made  by  Mr.  Adams  in  his  correspond- 
ence with  you  are  worthy  of  consideration,  and  it  is  always 
desirable  that  on  foreign  and  difficult  duty,  such  as  is  en- 
trusted to  you,  and  when  the  relations  of  the  Government  are 
involved,  you  should,  in  questions  like  those  presented  on  the 
occasion  of  detaining  the  Kearsage,  observe  the  usual  courtesies, 
and  make  your  application  through  the  representative  of  the 
Government  for  such  privileges  as  you  may  desire. 

"  Very  respectfully, 

"  Gideon  Welles, 

"  Secy  of  Navy. 
"  Capt.  J.  A,  WiNSLOv/, 

"  Comdg.  U.  S.  S.  ''Kearsarge. '  " 

"t^.  S,  S.  '^  Kearsarge^ 

"  Dover  Roads, 
''April  8th,  1864. 

".  ,  .  I  have  just  reached  here  in  the  Kearsarge  from 
London,  where  it  was  necessary  to  go  for  repairs,  but  they 
have  abused  us  and  chased  us  up  so  that  we  got  an  order  to 
leave  with  or  without  repairs.  There  has  been  hardly  a  day 
that  they  have  not  opened  their  battery  upon  me,  in  Parlia- 


The  Blockade  of  the  Rappahannock.   167 

ment ;  I  have  got  so  used  to  abuse,  that  I  pay  no  attention  to 
it  now. 

"  My  time  has  been  occupied  with  repairs  and  the  multi- 
plicity of  correspondence.  ...  I  have  written  the  Secre- 
tary of  the  Navy  that  I  am  forbidden  the  roadstead  in  the 
Channel,  and  that  I  shall  be  compelled  to  make  Ostend  or  some 
other  point  a  base  for  operations." 

The  use  of  Ostend  came  near  being  disastrous. 

"  U.  S.  S.  ^Kearsarge,^ 

"  Ostend,  Belgium, 

'^  April  igtk,  1864. 

"Sir: 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  inform  the  Department  of  an  accident 
which  came  near  being  of  serious  consequence  to  this  ship. 

"  On  entering  the  channel  between  the  piers  which  leads  to 
the  harbor  in  this  port,  the  pilot  gave  the  ship  too  much  sheer 
and  fouled  a  smack,  carrying  away  her  topmast,  with  other 
slight  damage.  Immediately  he  ordered  the  helm  hard  over, 
keeping  it  there  too  long.  His  object  was  not  seen  until  it  was 
too  late  to  prevent  the  accident,  and  the  ship  ran  high  up, 
carrying  away  the  pedestrian  bridge  on  the  eastern  side  of  the 
canal. 

"  The  water  receded  and  left  her  forefoot  out  of  water,  but 
I  directed  guys  to  be  got  out  from  the  mastheads  stayed  by 
pennant  tackles,  which  kept  her  on  an  even  keel. 

"  On  the  return  of  high  water,  having  previously  got  our 
purchases  ready,  we  hove  her  off.  Not  the  slightest  strain 
was  observed,  and  no  damage  done  except  a  perceptible  move- 
ment of  the  shoe  plates  on  the  forefoot,  and  some  copper 
chafed  off. 

"  The  accident  was  so  egregious  a  blunder,  as  led  the  officers 
to  say  the  pilot  was  bribed  ;  for  no  person  of  the  meanest  ca- 
pacity could  not  have  prevented  it. 

"  The  damage  to  the  pier  bridge,  which  is  estimated  at  two 
hundred  (200)  pounds,  the  consul  thinks  the  government  will 
assume.      This    accords  with   decision   in   such   cases   where 


1 68  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

damage  has  followed  from  merchant  vessels  coming  in  contact. 
"  I  have  the  honor  to  be 
"  Very  respectfully  your  obedient  servant 
"  Jno.  a.  Winslow,  Captain. 
"  Hon.  Gideon  Welles, 
"  Secretary  of  Navy, 

"Washington,  D,  C." 

"  U.  S.  S.  'Kear surge,* 

"  OsTEND,  Belgium, 

''  April  1 8th,  1864. 

"Sir: 

"  A  report  may  reach  you  that  the  Kearsarge  was  on  shore. 
A  pilot  at  Ostend   ran  her  on  a  pier,  carrying  it  away.     But 
the  ship  received  no  damage,  and  is  ready  for  active  service. 
"  I  have  the  honor  to  be 
"  Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant 

"Jno,  a.  Winslow,  Captain. 
"  Hon.  Wm.  L.  Dayton, 

"  Efiv.  Ext.  and  Min.  Flefi.  of  the  U.  S." 

Having  now  but  the  one  vessel  to  watch,  and 
that  one  in  a  harbor  easily  blockaded,  Winslow  was 
most  anxious  that  nothing  should  be  placed  in  the 
way  of  her  departure. 

"£/.  S.  S.  'Kearsarge,* 

"  Ostend,  Belgium, 

"  April  20th,  1864. 
"  Sir  : 

"  I  duly  received  yours,  and  Mr.  Crawford's  notes,  convey- 
ing information  of  the  enlistment  of  twenty-five  (25)  seamen 
for  the  Rappahannock. 

"  It  is  found  expedient  to  let  matters  take  their  course,  as 
the  only  curative  course  is  capture. 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  be 
"  Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant 

"  Jno.  a.  Winslow,  Captain. 
"Aaron  Goodrich,  Esq., 
"  Secretary  of  Legation. 
"  Belgium." 


The  Blockade  of  the  Rappahannock.  169 

"  U.  S.  S.  'Kearsarge,' 
"Off  Calais, 

"  i6tk  April,  I64. 

" .  .  .  You  have  no  idea  how  I  have  been  bothered 
in  one  way  and  another.  I  have  had  a  sharp  correspondence 
with  Mr.  Adams,  our  Minister.  He  has  sided  with  the  English 
in  everything.  He  ordered  me  from  the  English  coast,  and 
now  I  have  no  place  but  the  English  Channel.  The  Americans 
are  all  mad  with  him.  He  wrote  me  he  had  reported  me  to 
the  Government.     Mr.  Dayton  is  just  the  opposite. 

"  I- arranged  secret  information  to  be  sent  to  Ostend,  where 
circumstances  forced  me  to  go,  and  going  into  Ostend  the 
rascally  pilot  ran  the  ship  nearly  high  and  dry,  right  through 
the  pier  bridge,  carrying  everything  away,  but  the  ship  sus- 
tained no  damage.  We  had  hard  work  for  Sunday  ;  but  I 
adopted  such  measures  that  at  night  we  got  her  off.  So  I 
commenced  fitting  up  and  painting  and  took  the  opportunity 
to  run  up  to  Brussels,  hoping  to  go  in  the  next  day  to  Ant- 
werp ;  but  there  was  no  place  for  me.  Messengers  with  tele- 
grams from  the  American  Minister  and  different  consuls, 
pursued  me  everywhere  with  numerous  absurd  reports.  Among 
others,  that  Mason  and  Slidell  had  arranged  some  plan  to 
catch  the  Kearsarge.  Three  hundred  boarders  were  to  come 
off,  somewhere  and  somehow,  board  and  take  the  Kearsarge. 
To  which  I  exclaimed  :  '  Nonsense,  Gentlemen  ;  I  have  had 
enough  of  this.'  The  poor  Kearsarge  has  been  chasing  up 
the  pirates  everywhere,  trying  every  way  to  get  at  them. 
Papers  have  been  full  of  challenges,  etc.  My  experience 
teaches  me,  it  is  the  business  of  the  vessels  to  keep  clear  of  us 
and  that  they  have  most  effectually  done. 

"  Though  I  knew  the  report  that  the  Rappahannock  was 
about  sailing  was  false,  I  telegraphed  :  '  Take  the  Kearsarge 
out  of  the  port  and  wait  next  train  for  me  at  Ostend.'  At 
nine  o'clock  the  next  morning  I  was  on  board,  amidst  paint, 
bustle  and  everything.  (Leaving  several  officers  and  men  on 
shore,  who  rejoined  me  at  Calais.)  On  my  way  down,  got  re- 
turn telegram  from  Mr.  Dayton  :  ^Rappahannock  was  not  re- 
leased,' which  on  arrival  at  Calais  I  found  true.  I  am  now 
in  the  Channel,  where  the  agents,  who  lie  so  to  show  their 


I70  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

vigilance,  cannot  get  at  me.     I  have  been  very  anxious  about 
this  vessel  and  have  adopted  the  best  means  for  her  capture. 

"The  English  papers  say  that  now  that  the  Kearsarge  has 
been  run  ashore  and  disabled  is  the  time  iox  the  Rappahannock 
to  go  out.  But  the  Kearsarge,  although  carrying  everything 
in  the  way  of  piers  away,  shew  not  a  strain  herself  ;  and  they 
are  slightly  mistaken.     .     .     ." 

"  f/.  S.  S.  '■Kearsarge' 
"Off  Calais,  France, 

^^ April 26,  1 64. 

"Sir: 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  inform  the  Department  that  from  in- 
formation received  that  the  Rappahannock  was  about  sailing, 
the  Kearsarge  left  Ostend  suddenly  on  the  21st  inst.,  and  ar- 
rived off  Calais  some  six  hours  afterwards.  The  Rappahannock 
was  still  in  port,  and  although  every  preparation  had  been 
made  for  sailing,  I  learnt  that  she  had  not  been  released. 

"  Mr.  Dayton  informs  me  that  no  final  action  on  her  case 
will  be  taken  by  the  French  Government  until  after  the  con- 
ference of  the  lawyers  appointed  by  the  Government  shall 
have  given  their  opinion. 

"  The  Department  will  see  that  the  papers  announce  the 
Florida  being  again  at  Madeira,  and  the  arrival  of  the  Ala- 
bama at  Cape  Town. 

"  Secret  agents  for  a  month  or  more  have  asservated  that 
the  Alabama  had  orders  and  would  return  to  the  British 
Channel  or  some  other  place  of  rendezvous  for  her  consorts, 
and  it  was  contemplated  to  make  an  attack  upon  some  of  the 
eastern  towns.  I  gave  no  credit  to  these  statements,  but  the 
arrival  of  the  Alabama  at  Cape  Town  and  the  continuance  of 
the  Florida  and  Georgia  on  the  coast  of  Europe,  may,  in 
opinion  of  the  Department,  afford  some  foundation  for  these 
reports.  "  I  have  the  honor  to  be 

"  Very  respectfully 

"Your  obedient  servant 
"  Hon.  Gideon  Welles,  "  Jno.  A.  Winslow,  Captain, 

* '  Secretary  of  the  Navy, 
"  Washington,  D.  C." 


The  Blockade  of  the  Rappahannock.  171 

"  Legation  des  Etats  Unis, 
"  Paris,  i.e  jot  A  April,  1S64. 
"  Captain  Winslow 

"  U.  S.  S.  'Kearsarge: 
*'  Sir  : 

"  In  an  interview  with  Mr.  Drouyn  de  Lhuys,  French  Min- 
ister of  Foreign  Affairs,  from  which  I  have  just  returned,  he 
informed  me  that  the  persons  who  have  been  engaged  in  ap- 
plying to  the  French  Government  to  get  out  the  Rappahannock 
have  now  informed  him  that  all  further  attempts  for  that  pur- 
pose have  been  abandoned  and  that  the  vessel  will  be  left  to 
rot  where  she  is.  I  have  no  fear,  therefore,  of  the  early  dis- 
charge of  this  vessel. 

"  The  four  clipper  ships  which  are  being  constructed  by 
Mr.  Annan  at  Bordeaux  and  Nantes  for  the  Confederates  are 
in  the  course  of  rapid  completion,  particularly  the  Yeddo  and 
Osaco,  which  lie  at  Bordeaux.  The  Yeddo  is  advertised  to  sail 
for  China  on  the  30th  May  and  the  Osaco  on  the  30th  June 
under  pretense  that  they  are  for  the  French  China  line.  They 
are  both  Confederate  vessels  and  should  be  captured  if  possible. 
"  The  Georgia,  I  am  informed,  has  sailed  for  Antwerp. 
"  I  am  Sir 

"Your  obedient  servant 

"  Wm.  L.  Dayton." 

"U.  S.  S.  '■Kearsarge^ 

"Dover  Roads,  Eng., 

'■'■  May  1 6th,  1864. 

"  Sir  : 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  report,  that  from  information  received 
from  Mr.  Dayton,  that  the  rebels  had  rejected  the  conditions 
which  the  French  government  had  attached  to  the  release  of 
the  Rappahannock,  and  further  that  the  Georgia  had  been 
diverted  from  j^roceeding  to  Antwerp,  her  intended  destina- 
tion, from  apprehension  of  meeting  the  Kearsarge,  and  had 
gone  into  Liverpool.  I  resolved  to  take  advantage  of  this  op-, 
portunity,  and  accordingly  left  for  Flushing,  for  examination 
as  to  any  injuries  which  the  bottom  of  this  vessel  might  have 
received  at  Ostend. 


172  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

"  On  docking  her  she  was  found  to  have  sustained  no  injury, 
except  copper  torn  from  her  keel,  and  on  parts  of  her  bilges 
ruffed  up.  The  renewal  of  this  took  fifty-one  sheets  of  copper 
at  a  cost  for  docking,  labor,  etc.,  of  three  hundred  and  sixty- 
one  dollars  and  sixty-two  cents  ($361.62).  The  ship's  bottom 
is  now  in  a  fine  state. 

"  I  beg  to  inform  the  Department  that  I  received  from  the 
officials  at  Flushing  every  facility  for  the  work,  by  the  offer 
of  materials  and  mechanics  without  limit,  and  it  is  but  justice 
to  say,  that  a  ready  disposition  and  kindness  was  in  all 
instances  manifested  to  assist  us. 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  be 
"  Very  respectfully 

"  Your  obedient  servant 
"  Jno.  a.  Winslow, 

"  Captain. 
"  To  the 

"  Hon.  Gideon  Welles, 

"  Secretary  of  the  Navy, 

"Washington,  D.  C." 

"Flushing,  Holland, 

"  'Kearsarge,'  May  i^th,  1S64. 

"...  One  of  your  letters  forwarded  here,  contains 
a  notice  of  Kearsarge  debate  in  Parliament,  and  I  suppose 
ere  this  you  have  seen  more  about  it.  My  letter  to-  Earl 
Clanricarde  placed  matters  in  the  right  light,  and  threw  the 
tables  on  our  side,  for  everyone  was  ashamed  to  make  other 
attacks  on  us.  I  received  from  everyone  the  most  unbounded 
civility — particularly  from  officers  of  the  English  Army  and 
Navy.  I  came  here  to  go  into  dock,  to  put  the  copper  on, 
which  was  knocked  off  at  Ostend,  and  the  ignorant  pilot  came 
near  doing  us  more  damage  than  we  received  there,  for  he 
ran  us  against  the  wharves  and  piles.  I  never  knew  one  more 
ignorant  ;  however,  I  am  now  out,  all  repairs  completed  and 
shall  sail  again  for  Dover  to-day.  I  cannot  say  where  I  shall 
next  go,  but  I  suppose  it  will  depend  upon  the  Rappahannock, 
though  we  have  kept  her  in,  she  has  prevented  us  going  after 
others. 


The  Blockade  of  the  Rappahannock.  173 

"  Off  Dover,  i6th  May,  U.  S.  S.  'Kearsarge'  The  Rappa- 
hannock is  stopped  by  the  French  Government,  but  should  the 
rebels  be  successful,  we  shall  have  more  privateers  from 
France  or  England  than  we  know  what  to  do  with." 

"£/.  S.  S.  ^Kearsarge,'' 

"  FoLKSTONE  Harbor, 

"  May  JO,  1864. 

".  .  .  I  sent  an  officer  up  to  Paris,  who  has  just  re- 
turned and  brings  word  from  Mr.  Dayton  that  '  the  Rappa- 
hannock case  is  not  decided  yet,  although  from  the  activity, 
and  the  number  of  men  on  board,  I  took  it  for  granted  she 
would  soon  be  released.'  As  there  is  nothing  therefore  to  keep 
me  in  the  Channel,  and  I  can't  go  into  either  English  or 
French  ports  for  over  twenty-four  hours,  I  am  going  up  to 
Flushing  again,  to  remain  until  I  hear  something  more  decided 
about  the  Rappahannock.     I  did  not  care  much  about  seeing 

,  I  saw    at   once  he  was  on  the  Southern  side — the 

truth  is  all  England  is  on  that  side  except  Lancashire,  York- 
shire, and  the  Liberals.  A  gentleman  who  was  one  of  them 
told  me  a  revolution  would  be  created  there  if  the  Tories  went 
to  war  with  the  United  States,  but  notwithstanding  the  Tories 
are  doing  everything  to  force  it  on — I  believe  they  would 
cheer  in  Parliament  if  they  he"ard  of  a  decided  Southern 
victory,  so  strong  is  the  feeling  to  divide  the  United  States. 
.  .  .  I  don't  know  how  the  war  is  going,  but  the  news 
came  so  good  of  Grant's  victories — followed  by  contradiction 
— that  one  is  in  doubt  what  to  believe. 

**  I  sail  tonight  for  Flushing.     .     .     ." 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

THE    ALABAMA    AT    CHERBOURG. 

MEANWHILE,  the  most  formidable  of  all 
the  Confederate  cruisers,  after  a  career  of 
commerce  destruction  that  may  remain  unparalleled 
in  the  annals  of  history,  was  nearing  the  scene  of 
Winslow's  operations,  forced  thither  by  the  in- 
evitable consequences  of  her  employment.  The 
Alabama  had  cruised  at  will  for  two  years,  and 
captured  sixty-eight  United  States  merchant  ves- 
sels, valued,  by  her  appraisement,  at  $5,500,000. 
She  had  practically  driven  American  commerce  from 
the  high  seas.  Only  twice  had  she  encountered  Fed- 
eral men-of-war :  one,  the  San  Jacitito,  she  had 
eluded  at  Martinique  ;  and  the  other,  the  Hatteras, 
she  had  lured  to  sea  from  the  Galveston  blockade 
and  sunk  in  a  night  engagement.  Subsequently 
she  was  barely  missed  by  the  Vanderbilt  at  Cape 
Town  and  by  the  Wyoming  in  the  East  Indies. 
Haphazard  search  for  her  had  proved  absolutely 
fruitless,  but  all  things  come  to  him  who  waits, 
provided  he  waits  in  the  right  place,  and  this 
Winslow  had  done. 

Captain  Semmes  writes  of  the  Alabama  when  at 
Singapore  in  December,  1863: 

174 


U!|il''i, 


The  Alabama  at  Cherbourg.  1 75 

"  My  ship  was  getting  very  much  out  of  repair.  The  hard 
usage  to  which  she  had  been  subjected  since  she  had  been 
commissioned  had  very  much  impaired  her  strength,  and  so 
constantly  had  she  been  under  way,  that  the  attrition  of  the 
water  had  worn  the  copper  on  her  bottom  so  thin  that  it  was 
daily  loosening  and  dropping  off  in  sheets.  Her  speed  had,  in 
consequence,  been  much  diminished.  The  fire  in  her  fur- 
naces .  .  .  had  never  been  permitted  to  go  out,  except 
for  a  few  hours  at  rare  intervals,  to  enable  the  engineer 
to  clink  her  bars  and  remove  the  incrustations  of  salt  from  the 
bottoms  of  his  boilers.  This  constant  action  of  fire  and  salt 
had  nearly  destroyed  them."  ' 

He  writes  again  of  his  return  to  Cape  Town  in 
March,  1864  : 

"  My  intention  now  was  to  make  the  best  of  my  way  to  Eng- 
land or  France,  for  the  purpose  of  docking  and  thoroughly 
overhauling  and  repairing  my  ship,  in  accordance  with  my 
previously  expressed  design."  ' 

United  States  newspapers  received  at  this  time 
made  Semmes  gravely  apprehensive  for  the  outcome 
of  the  conflict  at  home  ;  and  the  reflections  of  this, 
the  greatest  of  commerce  destroyers,  upon  the  re- 
sults of  his  labors  are  deeply  significant  and  worthy 
of  careful  study  by  those  who  still  advocate  that 
method  of  warfare  : 

"  From  the  whole  review  of  the  situation  [he  says]  I  was 
very  apprehensive  that  the  cruises  of  the  Alabama  were  draw- 
ing to  a  close.  As  for  ourselves,  we  were  doing  the  best  we 
could,  with  our  limited  means,  to  harass  and  cripple  the 
enemy's  commerce,  that  important  sinew  of  war  ;  but  the 
enemy  seemed  resolved  to  let  his  commerce  go,  rather  than 
forego  his  purpose  of  subjugatmg  us."  ' 
'  Service  Afloat. 


176  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

Being  shrewd  enough  to  reaHze  that  the  Confed- 
eracy had  nearly  run  its  course,  it  seems  probable 
that  a  feeling  of  desperation  was  coming  over  this 
heretofore  sanguine  man,  creating  a  desire  to  close 
his  career  afloat  by  a  brilliant  action,  whether  prof- 
itable to  his  country  or  not.  It  is  significant  that, 
on  April  23d,  having  captured  the  American  ship 
Rockingham  on  his  way  to  Europe,  he  resorted  to 
the  very  unusual  expedient  of  using  her  for  target 
practice.     Of  this,  he  himself  writes  : 

"  .  .  .  the  weather  being  fine,  we  made  a  target  of  the 
prize,  firing  some  shot  and  shell  into  her  with  good  effect."  ' 

Lieut.  Arthur  Sinclair,  in  his  Two  Year's  on  the 
'■Alabama^  writes  of  this  : 

"  .  .  .  we  made  a  target  of  the  prize.  The  breeze  was 
light  and  sea  smooth,  and  at  point  blank  and  elevated  range 
the  gun  divisions  amused  themselves  blithely.  Considerable 
damage  was  done  the  target  in  the  hull,  the  cabin  particularly 
being  torn  up  and  knocked  into  splinters.  .  .  .  It  is  curi- 
ous to  compare  the  fine  execution  in  this  target  practice  and 
the  woful  failure  in  the  Kearsarge  engagement  which  closely 
followed  it." 

The  captain  of  the  Rockingham  afterward  made 
affidavit  before  the  United  States  Consular  Agent 
at  Cherbourg  that  twenty-four  shots  were  fired  at 
five  hundred  yards  and  over,  and  that  four  hits 
were  made  in  the  Rockingham  s  hull  and  three  in 
the  spars  and  rigging.  This  exceeds  threefold  the 
ordinary  percentage  of  hits  in  battle. 

It  is  certainly  a  rare  advantage  for  a  warship  to 
have  target  practice  at  sea  at  a  real  vessel  within 

'  Service  AJioat. 


The  Alabama  at  Cherbourg.  177 

two  months  of  battle.  The  Kearsarges  last  target 
practice  prior  to  the  battle  was  eight  days  earlier, 
off  Boulogne.  An  improvised  target  was  used  and 
thirty-five  shots  fired. 

The  Alabama  made  The  Lizard  on  the  loth 
of  June.  It  is  probable  that  Captain  Semmes  did 
not  choose  his  port  until  he  had  learned  all  possible 
news  from  his  Channel  pilot.  France  was  naturally 
preferred  to  England,  because  of  a  more  uncon- 
cealed leaning  toward  the  Confederate  cause  ;  and 
a  government  dockyard  was  desirable,  because  the 
Emperor's  ready  sympathy  almost  guaranteed  the 
use  of  it.  At  Brest,  the  Alabama  was  likely  to 
get  "  the  cold  shoulder,"  because  of  the  Florida  s 
long  and  much  protested  sojourn.  Cherbourg 
came  next,  and  in  that  port  Captain  Semmes 
brought  his  ship  to  anchor  on  the  nth  of  June. 
Information  of  his  arrival  was  telegraphed  to  Wins- 
low  at  Flushing,  by  Minister  Dayton,  on  the  12th. 

The  opportunity  had  come  and  the  man  was 
ready.  Experience  had  taught  all  its  lessons. 
There  was  to  be  no  running  short  of  provisions  ; 
no  relaxing  the  grip  this  time  through  unforseen 
contingfencies. 

"  U.  S.  S.  '  Kearsarge' 
"  Dover  Roads,  Eng,, 

"  June  13,  1864. 

"Sir: 

"  Having  been  informed  by  Mr,  Dayton  that,  notwithstand- 
ing the  preparations  made  for  immediate  departure  of  the 
Rappahannock,  some  time  would  elapse  before  a  final  decision 
in  her  case  would  be  made  by  the  French  government,  I  sailed 
in  the  Kearsarge  on  the  30th  ult.  for  the  Scheldt  River  to  await 
events,  which  would  determine  my  future  movements. 


178  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

"Yesterday  I  received  a  telegram  from  Mr.  Dayton  inform- 
ing me  that  the  Alabama  had  put  into  Cherbourg,  when  I  im- 
mediately left  on  my  way  for  that  port.  After  receiving  a  new 
trysail  and  topsail,  ordered  here  by  survey,  I  shall  proceed 
and  expect  to  reach  Cherbourg  tomorrow  night. 

"  I  have  deemed  it  expedient,  as  there  are  two  passages  at 
Cherbourg,  eastern  and  western,  and  we  shall  be  wanting  pro- 
vision, to  telegraph  Commander  Preble  to  take  in  stores  in  the 
St.  Louis  and  proceed  to  make  a  junction  with  this  vessel  at 
that  place. 

"  The  season  of  the  year  is  such  that  the  St.  Louis  can  very 
well  operate  off  Cherbourg,  and  although  she  would  be  of  very 
little  use  for  chasing,  yet  by  keeping  a  good  lookout  on  one  of 
the  entrances  and  signalising  she  may  be  of  great  service. 

"  Hoping  my  course  will  meet  with  the  approbation  of  the 
Department, 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  be 

"  Very  respectfully, 

"Your  obedient  servant, 
"  Hon,  "  John  A.  Winslow, 

"  Gideon  Welles,  "  Captain. 

*'  Secretary  of  the  Navy, 
"  Washington,  D.  C." 

Telegram  to  Commander  Preble,  June  12th,  re- 
ceived at  Tangier,  June  i6th  : 

"Take  on  board  immediately  provisions  and  proceed  with 

all  possible  haste  in  the  St.  Louis  to  Cherbourg,  for  the  purpose 

of  joining  the  Kearsarge,  and   at  the  same   time  order   Mr. 

Yeaton  to  take  passage  in  the  St.  Louis. 

"  Winslow." 

Information  of  the  Alabama's  appearance  reached 
the  Kearsarge  as  she  lay  at  anchor  in  the  river 
Scheldt,  off  Flushing,  on  Sunday  afternoon,  June 
1 2th.  The  cornet  was  immediately  hoisted  and  a 
gun  fired,  recalling  everybody  to  the  ship.     Fires 


The  Alabama  at  Cherbourg.  179 

were  quickly  lighted,  and  before  dark  the  good  ship 
was  in  the  English  Channel  hastening  toward  her 
adversary.  Captain  Winslow  then  called  all  hands 
to  muster,  and  informed  the  crew  that  the  Alabama 
was  at  Cherbourg  and  that  he  was  going  to  make 
every  effort  to  fight  her.  Rousing  cheers  greeted 
the  announcement,  and  all  "Jacky's"  minutiae  of 
preparation  for  battle  were  indulged  in  on  the  way 
down. 

"i/.  S.  S.  ^  A'earsarge,' 

"  Off  Dover,  yunc  ij,  1S64. 

" .  .  .  I  have  just  arrived  here  on  my  way  to  Cherbourg 
to  blockade  the  Alabama^  which  has  just  put  in  there.  I  got 
a  telegram  from  our  minister  at  Paris,  informing  me  of  this 
yesterday,  and  sailed  immediately  from  Flushing,  and  have 
stopped  here  for  some  things  ordered  before.  I  wrote  Mr. 
Welles  the  Alabama  would  be  up  here,  in  time  to  have  had  a 
dozen  steamers  sent  here — but  hang  me  if  I  can  understand 
the  movements  at  Washington,  However,  I  want  to  catch 
Semmes. 

"  They  are  getting  out  some  Confederate  steamers  from 
Bordeaux,  under  the  Dutch  flag,  but  I  have  informed  Mr. 
Dayton  and  Pike  of  the  modus  operandi. 

"  It  is  singular,  of  the  many  laws  passed  by  the  Navy  in  the 
two  past  years,  we  never  have  received  one,  and  are  all  in  the 
dark. 

"  I  find  I  have  not  the  health  that  I  had,  and  that  '  Mis- 
sissippi fever'  has  done  its  work,  with  my  old  blind  eye, 
and  a  constitution  which  is  extremely  susceptible  to  cold, 
which  always  increases  the  inflammation  in  eye  and  ears,  I  am 
fast  running  down  hill. 

"  G wrote  me  about  my  letter  to  Clanricarde — but  he, 

or  anyone  away  from  here,  is  not  aware  of  the  immense  in- 
fluence which  had  been  brought  to  bear  to  bring  on  war  with 
the  United  States  and  England.  The  Tories  have  moved 
everything  to  effect  it,  with  the  hope  of  dividing  the  country 


i8o  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

and  breaking  down  democracy.  Our  time  will  come  to  teach 
a  lesson,  but  we  must  abide  it  ;  fortunately,  the  rams  are 
bought  and  the  serious  question  over,  but  I  have  been  pru- 
dent in  this  affair,  and  everywhere  gained  eclat." 

On  the  14th  of  June,  during  a  dull  gray  after- 
noon, the  Kearsarge  steamed  in  behind  the  Cher- 
bourg breakwater  by  the  eastern  entrance  and 
stopped  in  the  harbor  near  the  Alabama  without 
anchoring,  while  a  boat  was  sent  ashore  to  com- 
municate. Meanwhile,  the  crews  of  the  two  vessels 
crowded  curiously  and  mutely  to  the  rail  to  scruti- 
nize their  prospective  adversaries. 

What  were  the  feelings  of  the  two  commanders, 
Semmes  and  Winslow  ? — shipmates,  messmates,  and 
roommates  in  a  previous  war,  in  which  each  had  won 
commendation  for  brave  deeds.  In  that  war  they 
had  fought  side  by  side  with  all  the  ardor  of  youth  ; 
now,  in  the  maturity  of  years  and  experience,  they 
had  come  together  again,  grim  if  not  bitter  oppo- 
nents in  a  far  more  stupendous  conflict,  duellists  as 
equally  equipped  as  such  can  ever  be  in  naval  war- 
fare. Each  was  familiar  with  the  other's  character- 
istics. Semmes  knew  that  he  would  be  blockaded 
with  ceaseless  vigilance  ;  Winslow  felt  sure  that  his 
opponent  would  ultimately  fight  his  way  out  rather 
than  be  smothered  in  a  hole. 

The  Kearsarge  s  boat  was  at  first  not  even  allowed 
to  communicate  with  the  shore  ;  later,  however,  an 
officer  was  permitted  to  visit  the  United  States 
Consular  Agent  and  the  Port  Admiral.  Captain 
Winslow  asked  permission  to  take  on  board  the 
marines  from  the  Alabama  s  prizes,  whom  Semmes 


The  Alabama  at  Cherbourg. 


i»i 


had  set  on  shore,  but  this  was  refused.  However, 
a  good  deal  of  information  about  the  Alabama  was 
obtained  from  them,  and,  in  retaHation,  a  protest 
was  made  against  any  increment  to  the  Alabama  s 
crew,  which  prevented  her  from  getting  several 
officers  and  men  who  had  once  formed  a  part  of 
her  complement. 

The  Kearsarge  steamed  out  through  the  channel 
opposite  the  one  by  which  she  had  entered,  and 
took  up  her  station  on  blockade.  The  Captain  of 
the  Alabama  then  wrote  the  following  letters  : 

"  C.  S.  S.  'Alabama' 

"  Cherbourg,  June  14.,  1864. 

•'Sir: 

"  I  hear  that  you  were  informed  by  the  U.  S.  consul  that  the 
Kearsarge  was  to  come  to  this  port  solely  for  the  prisoners 
landed  by  me,  and  that  he  was  to  depart  in  twenty-four  hours. 
I  desire  to  say  to  the  U.  S.  consul  that  my  intention  is  to  fight 
the  Kearsarge  as  soon  as  I  can  make  the  necessary  arrange- 
ments. I  hope  these  will  not  detain  me  more  than  until  to- 
morrow evening,  or  after  the  morrow  morning  at  furthest.  I 
beg  she  will  not  depart  before  I  am  ready  to  go  out. 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient 

servant, 

"  R.  Semmes, 
"  Captain. 

"Ad.  Bonfils,  Esq., 

"  Cherbourg." 

"  C  S.  S.  '■Alabama,' 

"Cherbourg,  June  14,  1864. 

"  Dear  Barron: 

"  The  Kearsarge  is  off  the  port,  which  I  understand,  of 
course,  as  a  challenge.  As  we  are  about  equally  matched,  I 
shall  go  out  to  engage  her  as  soon  as  I  can  make  the  necessary 
preparations,  which  will  probably  be  to-morrow.     As  the  issue 


1 82  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

of  combats  is  always  uncertain,  I  have  deposited  4  1/2  sacks 
of  sovereigns,  containing  about  4,700,  and  the  paymaster's  last 
pay  roll  with  Mr.  Ad.  Bonfils,  of  Cherbourg,  a  gentleman 
known  to  Mr.  Slidell. 

"  I  have  also  deposited  a  package  of  ransom  bonds  (sealed), 
all  of  which  please  bear  in  mind  in  case  of  accident. 

"Yours,  truly,  etc., 

"  R.  Semmes. 
"  Flag-Officer  S.  Barron." 

The  reasons  which  induced  Semmes  to  seek  a 
fight  so  promptly  are  nowhere  directly  stated,  not 
even  in  his  own  loquacious  narrative.  Neverthe- 
less, he  says  many  things  that  indicate  the  trend  of 
his  reasoning:  in  the  matter. 

"  Many  changes  had  taken  place  .  .  .  among  my  crew 
,  .  .  but  still  a  large  proportion  of  my  old  men  had 
come  back  with  us.  These  were  faithful  and  true,  and  took 
more  than  ordinary  interest  in  their  ship  and  their  flag.  There 
was  harmony  and  mutual  confidence  between  officers  and 
men.     .     .     . 

"  Cherbourg  being  exclusively  a  naval  station,  the  docks 
all  belonged  to  the  Government  .  .  .  and  the  matter 
[of  docking]  was  laid  over  until  the  emperor  could  be  com- 
municated with.  The  Emperor  was  then  at  Biarritz  ,  .  . 
and  would  not  be  back  in  Paris  for  several  days.  It  was  my 
intention,  if  I  had  been  admitted  promptly  into  dock,  to  give 
my  crew  a  leave  of  absence  for  a  couple  of  months.  They 
would  have  been  discharged  and  dispersed  in  the  first  twenty- 
four  hours  after  my  arrival,  but  for  the  temporary  absence  of 
the  Emperor.  The  combat,  therefore,  which  ensued,  may  be 
said  to  be  due  to  the  Emperor's  accidental  absence  from 
Paris. 

" .  .  .  the  enemy's  steamer  Kear surge  was  lying  at 
Flushing.  .  .  .  three  days  after  our  arrival  she  steamed 
into  the  harbor  .  .  .  and,  without  anchoring,  steamed  out 
again,  and  took  her  station  ofif  the  breakwater.    We  had  heard 


The  Alabama  at  Cherbourg.  183 

a  day  or  two  before  of  the  expected  arrival  of  this  ship,  and  it 
was  generally  understood  among  my  crew  that  I  intended  to 
engage  her.  ...  I  now  addressed  a  note  to  Bonfils,  our 
agent,  requesting  him  to  inform  Captain  Winslow,  through  the 
United  States  Consul,  that  if  he  would  wait  until  I  could  re- 
ceive some  coal  on  board  ...  I  would  come  out  and 
give  him  battle.  The  message  was  duly  conveyed,  and  the 
defiance  was  understood  to  have  been  accepted. 

"  I  had  communicated  my  intention  to  fight  this  battle  to 
Flag  Officer  Barron,  my  senior  officer  in  Paris,  a  few  days  be- 
fore, and  that  officer  had  generously  left  the  matter  to  my  own 
discretion. 

"  My  crew  seemed  not  only  willing,  but  anxious  for  the  com- 
bat, and  I  had  every  confidence  in  their  steadiness  and  drill. 

'*  As  for  the  two  ships  .  .  .  they  were  of  force  so 
nearly  equal,  that  I  cannot  be  charged  with  rashness  in  having 
offered  battle."  ' 

The  preceding  remarks  read  like  a  cloak  to  his 
real  reason,  yet  they  give  it  in  part.  Captain 
Semmes  had,  beyond  doubt,  learned  enough  at 
Cherbourg  to  convince  him  that  the  Confederacy 
was  on  its  last  legs  ;  that  the  French  Emperor  was 
experiencing  a  change  of  heart ;  that  the  Alabama 
would  probably  never  be  permitted  all  the  repairs 
she  needed  ;  that  his  crew,  once  discharged,  could 
never  be  reshipped,  and,  if  not  discharged,  would 
rapidly  desert.  He  probably  remembered  the  Rock- 
ingha7n  target  practice  and  felt,  as  he  writes,  that 
his  officers  and  men  would  never  be  and  had 
never  been  in  such  good  trim  for  fighting  as  they 
were  right  then.  Chances  seemed  at  the  moment 
about  equal ;  delay  meant  inevitable  deterioration 
for  him,  and  probably  an  increase  of  force  for  the 

'  Service  AJloat. 


184  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

enemy.  Should  he  permit  the  Alabama  to  be  "  bot- 
tled up "  and  abandoned  in  port,  or  should  he 
submit  her  fate  to  the  chances  of  a  battle  with  an 
equal  ?     There  could  be  but  one  decision. 

Semmes,  when  rescued,  told  Mr.  Lancaster  he 
fought  the  Keai'sarge  because  the  Alabama  was 
then  so  watched  everywhere  that  she  could  not  es- 
cape. She  was  quite  out  of  repair  ;  could  not  prop- 
erly steam,  as  she  needed  new  tubes  to  her  boilers, 
so,  having  consulted  with  the  representatives  of  the 
Confederate  States  at  Paris,  he  put  in  for  some  re- 
pairs at  Cherbourg,  and,  finding  he  could  go  no- 
where, decided  that  the  only  chance  left  was  to 
fight,  and  perhaps  win. 

His  so-called  challenore  was  received  on  board  the 
Kearsarge  during  the  afternoon  of  June  15th.  No 
reply  was  made  ;  none  was  necessary.  The  only 
acknowledgement  to  be  found  is  in  the  Kearsarge  s 
log  for  that  date  : 

"At  6:30  P.M.  beat  to  quarters.  Loaded  the  battery  and 
cleared  ship  for  action." 

The  log  of  the  Kearsarge  records  no  further 
preparation  for  battle  beyond  the  regular  routine 
of  drill,  except  one  special  drill  at  repelling  boarders, 
which  is  significant  when  we  read  in  Semmes' 
memoirs  of  his  intention,  if  possible,  to  board.  The 
Kearsarge  had,  in  fact,  been  ready  for  battle  for 
more  than  a  year  —  since  the  14th  of  May,  1863, 
when  the  sheet  chains  were  ranged  along  her  hull 
in  wake  of  the  boilers,  to  protect  them  whenever 
the  ship  was  light   through  consumption   of  fuel. 


The  Alabama  at  Cherbourg,  1S5 

Semmes  declared  immediately  after  the  battle,  and 
subsequently  in  his  memoirs,  that  he  knew  nothing 
of  this  protection.  There  was  no  reason  why  he 
should,  except  that  it  had  been  quite  a  customary 
expedient  of  Federal  vessels  for  nearly  two  years, 
yet  Lieutenant  Arthur  Sinclair,  in  his  Two  Years 
on  the  'Alabama'  writes  : 

"  I  have  often  been  asked  why  Semmes  should  decide  to 
fight.  .  .  .  with  the  full  knowledge  .  .  .  that  the 
midship  section  of  the  Kearsarge  was  protected  by  bights  of 
chain  cables  hung  over  her  sides. 

"The  port  admiral  [of  Cherbourg]  manifested  a  fellow 
feeling  and  interest  ...  by  informing  Semmes,  a  day  or 
two  before  the  fight,  that  an  officer  detailed  to  visit  the  Kear- 
sarge in  the  offing  had  reported  the  fact  of  the  chain  armor 
arranged  on  the  ship.  .  .  .  Winslow,  for  protecting  his 
ship  with  chain  armor,  should,  in  the  humble  judgment  of  the 
writer  ...  be  accounted  as  simply  using  proper  pru- 
dence in  the  direct  line  of  duty.  .  .  .  Semmes  knew  all 
about  it,  and  could  have  adopted  the  same  scheme.  It  was 
not  his  election  to  do  so." 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  Semmes  was  protecting  his 
ship  in  a  manner  that  he  probably  thought  equally 
good.  The  Alabama  reached  Cherbourg  with 
plenty  of  coal  in  her  bunkers  to  fight  a  battle  ;  it 
was  estimated  by  a  Confederate  authority  at  200 
tons.  Nevertheless,  Semmes'  greatest  effort  in 
preparation  for  combat  was  to  fill  his  ship  with  coal. 
This  protected  nearly  the  same  vital  area  on  her  as 
the  chain  cables  did  on  the  Kearsarge. 

The  week  of  preparation  in  the  harbor  of 
Cherbourg  was  a  very  busy  one  for  all  hands  on 
the    Alabama.      Semmes    called    in    consultation 


1 86  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

Commander  George  T.  Sinclair,  an  ordnance  ex- 
pert of  the  old  navy,  then  a  Confederate  agent 
in  Europe,  and  discussed  with  him  the  plan  of 
action  and  the  merits  of  shot  and  shell  in  particular 
contingencies. 

Light  spars  were  sent  down,  top  hamper  was  un- 
rove  and  standing  rigging  stoppered.  The  battery- 
was  thoroughly  overhauled;  the  magazines  and  shell 
rooms  broken  out  and  specially  restowed  for  rapid 
handling  of  ammunition.  Special  attention  was 
given  to  perfecting  the  crew  in  boarding.  The 
drill  of  general  quarters  was^held  twice  during  the 
week.  All  captured  chronometers,  and  the  pay- 
master's safe,  in  which  the  officers  had  been  admon- 
ished to  put  their  valuables,  were  sent  on  shore. 
Semmes'  journal  records  preparations  as  follows  : 

"  Hearing  that  the  enemy's  steamer  Kearsarge  would  arrive 
here  in  a  day  or  two,  I  am  still  keeping  the  crew  on  board, 
and  this  afternoon  we  had  a  general  exercise  at  quarters. 
Great  excitement  on  board,  the  Kearsarge  having 
made  her  appearance  off  the  eastern  entrance  of  the  break- 
water at  about  ii  a.  m.  Sent  an  order  on  shore  immediately 
for  coal  (loo  tons)  and  sent  down  the  yards  on  the  mizzen- 
mast  and  the  topgallant  yards,  and  otherwise  preparing  the 
ship  for  action. 

"  Wednesday,  'jfime  15. — The  admiral  sent  off  his  aide-de- 
camp to  say  to  me  that  he  considered  my  application  for  re- 
pairs withdrawn  upon  my  making  application  for  coal,  to 
which  I  assented.  We  commenced  coaling  this  afternoon. 
The  Kearsarge  is  still  in  the  offing.  She  has  not  been  permit- 
ted to  receive  on  board  the  prisoners  landed  by  me,  to  which 
I  had  objected  in  a  letter  to  the  admiral.  Mailed  a  note  yes- 
terday afternoon  to  Flag-Ofificer  Barron,  informing  him  of  my 
intention  to  go  out  to  engage  the  enemy  as  soon  as  I  could 


The  Alabama  at  Cherbourg.  187 

make  my  preparations,  and  sent  a  written  notice  to  the  U.  S. 
consul,  through  Mr.  Bonfils,  to  the  same  effect.  My  crew 
seem  to  be  in  the  right  spirit,  a  quiet  spirit  of  determination 
pervading  both  ofificers  and  men.  The  combat  will  no  doubt 
be  contested  and  obstinate,  but  the  two  ships  are  so  equally 
matched  that  I  do  not  feel  at  liberty  to  decline  it.  God  de- 
fend the  right,  and  have  mercy  upon  the  souls  of  those  who 
fall,  as  many  of  us  must." 

It  became  quite  generally  understood  in  Cher- 
bourg that  Semmes  intended  to  fight  on  Sunday, 
the  19th  of  June.  Hundreds,  if  not  thousands,  of 
people  gathered  in  the  city  from  distant  points, 
completely  filling  the  hotels.  Winslow,  however, 
not  havinof  communicated  with  the  shore  since  re- 
ceiving  Semmes'  "  challenge,"  knew  nothing  of  the 
time  proposed,  and  waited  impatiently  from  day  to 
day  with  fading  hope. 

Kell,  the  Alabama  s  executive,  reported  every 
preparation  completed  on  Saturday  evening. 
Semmes  then  notified  the  Port  Admiral  officially 
that  he  would  go  out  in  the  morning.  All  hands 
were  piped  down  early  on  the  Confederate  cruiser 
for  a  good  night's  rest. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 


THE  DESTRUCTION  OF  THE  ALABAMA. 


ON  the  17th  of  June,  the  British  steam-yacht 
Deerhound  arrived  at  Cherbourg  and  an- 
chored near  the  Alabama.  A  few  days  before,  she 
had  landed  her  owner,  Mr.  John  Lancaster,  with 
his  family,  at  St.  Malo.  On  the  i8th,  they  arrived 
in  Cherbourg  by  rail  and  rejoined  the  yacht.  After 
a  family  consultation  that  evening,  it  was  decided, 
if  the  Alabama  should  fight  the  Kearsarge,  they 
would  go  out  to  witness  the  combat. 

Sunday,  the  19th  of  June,  dawned  bright  and 
clear  at  Cherbourg,  with  a  gentle  breeze  from  the 
westward  and  a  smooth  sea.  Quite  early  in  the 
morning,  before  Semmes  was  up,  an  officer  from 
the  Port  Admiral  visited  the  Alabama,  to  inform 
her  captain  that  the  French  ironclad  Couronne 
would  accompany  him  one  league  off  shore,  to  see 
that  no  conflict  took  place  within  neutral  limits. 

There  was  the  usual  exodus  of  small  sailing  craft 
from  the  harbor  after  daylight,  among  them  being 
two  pilot-boats  which  later  appeared  on  the  scene 
of  battle.  There  was  no  other  evidence  of  activity 
in  the  early  morning  hours,  except  the  raising  of 
steam  on  the  Alabama,  Cotcromie  and  Deerhound. 

188 


The  Destruction  of  the  Alabama.     189 

As  the  breakfast  hour  passed,  however,  people  be- 
gan to  assemble  on  the  walls  of  the  fortifications, 
on  the  shores  and  mole  and  on  the  heights  over- 
looking the  sea.  At  nine  the  Deerhotind  steamed 
slowly  out,  passing  close  to  the  Alabama,  everybody 
on  deck  intently  watching  her,  but  without  demon- 
stration. Outside,  the  yacht  stopped  and  waited. 
A  little  later,  the  Co2ironne  weighed  and  steamed 
outside  the  mole.^  About  two  leaofues  to  seaward 
the  Kearsarge  lay,  as  she  had  for  the  past  six  days, 
waiting. 

On  the  Alabama,  every  preparation  having  been 
completed  the  evening  before,  especial  effort  was 
made  to  avoid  hurry  and  excitement  in  the  morn- 
ing. The  crew  was  allowed  more  than  the  usual 
time  for  their  breakfast  and  smoke,  not  being 
turned-to  until  nine  o'clock. 

Captain  Semmes  came  up  from  his  breakfast  a 
little  later  than  was  his  custom,  and  remarked 
pleasantly  to  the  officer  of  the  deck  upon  the  good 
omen  of  a  bright  day,  the  neat  appearance  of  the 
deck  and  the  cheerful  spirit  of  the  crew.  Finally 
he  surprised  that  officer  by  asking  him  what  he 
thought  would  be  the  outcome  of  the  fight.  Re- 
ceiving a  vague  though  loyal  answer,  he  fell  to 
pacing  the  quarterdeck  while  preparations  were 
made  for  getting  under  way. 

Between  9:30  and  10:00  o'clock  the  Alabama 
left  her  moorings,  steamed  out  by  the  western  en- 
trance of  the  crowded  harbor  and  stood  toward  her 
distant  adversary,    passing    close    to   the    waiting 

•  Some  writers  state  that  she  left  the  harbor  with  the  Alabama. 


igo  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

Deerhound.  "  General  quarters  "  was  sounded  and 
the  battery  was  pivoted  to  starboard  and  loaded, 
one  32-pounder  being  shifted  from  the  port  battery 
to  a  vacant  port  on  the  starboard  quarterdeck.  All 
this  gave  the  ship  quite  a  list  to  starboard.  The 
men  were  then  allowed  to  rest  and  smoke  at  their 
guns.  Officers  had  been  admonished  to  dress  fully 
in  the  uniforms  of  their  rank,  and  the  crew  was  in 
uniform  as  for  a  Sunday  inspection. 

The  Cour 011716  accompanied  the  Alabama  to  a 
point  three  miles  from  shore  and  remained  there 
throughout  the  action.  The  Deerhound,  however, 
followed  the  Confederate  cruiser,  though  not 
closely,  to  the  scene  of  battle. 

While  approaching  the  Kcarsarge,  Semmes  had 
his  crew  mustered  aft,  and  from  a  gun-carriage 
delivered  the  following  address  :  ^ 

"  Officers  and  seamen  of  the  Alabama  :  You  have  at  length 
another  opportunity  of  meeting  the  enemy — the  first  that  has 
been  presented  to  you  since  you  sank  the  Hatteras.  In  the 
meantime  you  have  been  all  over  the  world,  and  it  is  not  too 
much  to  say  that  you  have  destroyed  and  driven  for  protection 
under  neutral  flags  one-half  of  the  enemy's  commerce,  which, 
at  the  beginning  of  the  war,  covered  every  sea.  This  is  an 
acliievement  of  which  you  may  well  be  proud,  and  a  grateful 
country  will  not  be  unmindful  of  it.  The  name  of  your  ship 
has  become  a  household  word  wherever  civilization  extends. 
Shall  that  name  be  tarnished  by  defeat  ?  "  (Cries  of "  Never  ! 
never  !  ")  "  The  thing  is  impossible  !  Remember  that  you 
are  in  the  English  Channel,  the  theatre  of  so  much  of  the 
naval  glory  of  our  race,  and  that  the  eyes  of  all  Europe  are  at 
this  moment  upon  you.     The  flag  that  floats  over  you  is  that 

'  Stated  by  some  to  have  been  read  by  the  paymaster,  or  by  the  captain's 
clerk. 


The  Destruction  of  the  Alabama.      191 


of  a  young  Republic,  who  bids  defiance  to  her  enemies,  when- 
ever and  wherever  found.  Show  the  world  that  you  know 
how  to  uphold  it  !     Go  to  your  quarters  !  " 

It  is  convenient  to  pause  here  and  contrast  the 
characteristics  and  fighting  condition  of  the  two 
vessels. 

KEARSARGE.  ALABAMA. 

Displacement 1031  tons.  1016  tons. 

Guns Seven.  Eight. 

Guns  fought Five.  Six. 

Broadside 366  lbs.  296  lbs. 

Rapidity  of  fire Deliberate.  Rapid. 

Speed  with  clean  bottom.  Ten  knots.  Twelve  knots. 

Condition  of  bottom Clean.  Foul. 

Complement 163  officers  and  149     officers     and 

men.  men. 

Protection Sheet   chains  Newly-filled  bunk- 
ranged  ers  abreast  boil- 
abreast  ers. 
boilers. 

Age  of  ship 2  yrs.,  6  mos.  2  years. 

Duty  since  commission..   Cruising    and  Continual  cruising. 

blockade. 

Previous  actions None.  One. 

Result  of  actions Complete  victory. 

Last  target  practice April  15.  April  23. 

Target Improvised.  A  ship  at  sea. 

Ammunition  used 35  rounds.  24  rounds. 

Previous  war  experience 

of  commanders Mexican  "War.  Mexican  War. 

Preparedness  for  battle. .   Complete.  Complete. 

It  seems  scarcely  probable  that  two  ships 
more  equally  matched  will  ever  fight  in  single 
combat. 


192 


John  Ancrum  Winslow. 


The  officers  of  the  Kearsarge  were  : 

Commander,  John  A.  Winslow,  Roxbury,  Mass. 

Lieutenant-Commander,  James  S.  Thornton. 

Acting  Master, 

Acting  Master, 

Acting  Master, 

Midshipman, 

Chief  Engineer, 

2d  Assistant  Engineer, 

3d  Assistant  Engineer, 

3d  Assistant  Engineer, 

3d  Assistant  Engineer, 

Surgeon, 

Paymaster, 


James  R.  Wheeler. 
E.  M.  Stoddard. 
David  H,  Sumner. 

E.  F.  Preble, 
William  H.  Cushman. 
W.  H.  Badlam. 

F.  L.  Miller. 
S.  L.  Smith. 
Henry  McConnell. 
John  M.  Browne. 
J.  A.  Smith. 


Those  of  the  Alabama  were 


Raphael  Semmes, 

J.  M.  Kell, 

R.  F.  Armstrong, 

Jos.  D.  (M.?)  Wilson, 

Arthur  Sinclair, 

I.  S.  Bullock, 

E.  M.  Anderson, 

E.  A.  Maffitt, 
M.  J.  Freeman, 
W.  P.  Brooks, 
Matthew  O'Brien, 
John  Pundt, 
William  Robertson, 
B.  K.  Howell, 

F.  L.  Galt, 

D.  H.  Llewelln, 


Commander, 

Lieutenant-Commander, 

Lieutenant, 

Lieutenant, 

Lieutenant, 

Master, 

Midshipman, 

Midshipman, 

Chief  Engineer, 

ist  Assistant  Engineer, 

2d  Assistant  Engineer, 

3d  Assistant  Engineer, 

4th  Assistant  Engineer, 

Lieutenant  of  Marines, 

Surgeon   and  Acting 

Paymaster, 
Assistant  Surgeon, 

During  the  early  morning  of  June  19,  1864,  the 
KearsargeyN2i'=,\ym<g  to,  under  half-steam,  about  three 
miles  N.N.E.  of  Cherbourg:  breakwater.     Toward  ten 


Maryland. 

Georgia. 

Georgia. 

Florida. 

Virginia. 

Georgia. 

Georgia. 

Georgia. 

Louisiana. 

So.  Carolina. 

Alabama. 

So.  Carolina. 

England. 

Louisiana. 

Virginia. 
England. 


The  Destruction  of  the  Alaba7na.     193 

o'clock,  as  the  morning  haze  dissipated,  she  steamed 
slowly  seaward  till  about  five  or  six  miles  off.  From 
this  position  the  breakwater  could  be  plainly  seen, 
but  the  haze  still  enshrouded  the  harbor  and  the 
shipping  inside.  That  balmy  Sunday  seemed  to 
promise  nothing  new  for  the  waiting  vessel.  Cap- 
tain Semmes,  in  his  "  challenge,"  had  stated  that  he 
would  delay  only  "  a  day  or  two  "  to  make  repairs 
rendered  necessary  by  his  long  cruise.  Five  days 
had  elapsed,  however,  without  his  moving,  and  it 
had  beeun  to  look  like  the  same  old  tactics  of  the 
Flo7^ida  at  Brest.  The  eao^er  waiters  were  losinof 
hope,  and  the  keen  edge  of  anticipation  had  worn 
dull.  At  10  A.M.,  Captain  Winslow  made  the  reg- 
ulation Sunday  inspection  of  ship  and  crew,  and 
the  only  business  of  the  day  appeared  to  be  the 
scrutiny  of  clean  suits,  bright  decks,  and  neat  lock- 
ers. Beneath  this  tranquil  surface  of  peace  routine, 
there  was,  however,  an  unseen  readiness  for  battle. 
Below  the  holystoned  decks  every  furnace  was 
alive  and  every  boiler  ready  to  give  steam  to  the 
engines.  High  above  the  heads  of  the  mustering 
gun-crews  were  special  lookouts  intently  watching, 
and  behind  the  long  ranks  of  Sunday-togged  sailors 
every  gun  was  loaded.  The  tranquillity  was  that 
of  readiness  —  of  complete  preparation. 

Inspection  over,  the  quarterdeck  was  equipped 
for  church,  and  services  began,  conducted  by  the 
captain. 

Presently  the  chief  quartermaster  on  the  bridge 
began  to  examine  intently  with  his  long  glass  some- 
thing   toward    Cherbourg.     The    alert     executive 


194  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

officer  quietly  left   his   place   in   the   congregation 
and  joined  in  the  scrutiny. 

The  haze  in  the  harbor  was  clearing,  and  a  steam- 
yacht  flying  the  white  British  ensign  had  come  out 
and  was  standing  to  the  northward.  It  was  but  an 
any-day  maritime  incident.  The  executive  returned 
to  his  seat,  and  the  momentary  expectation  subsided. 

But  the  quartermaster  continued  to  gaze,  and 
soon  came  briskly  down  the  port  gangway  till  close 
behind  those  assembled  for  worship,  and  again  lev- 
elled his  Q-lass  over  the  rail  toward  Cherbouro-. 
Almost  immediately,  he  cried  out  : 

"  She  's  coming  !  " 

Winslow  closed  his   service  without   ceremony, 
went  quietly  to  the  rail  and  took  the  glass.     There 
indeed,  was  the  Alabama,  steaming  rapidly  toward 
him,  accompanied  by  a  French  ironclad. 

After  more  than  a  year  of  tempestuous  cruising 
and  blockade,  of  superirritating  diplomatic  wrangle, 
of  physical  wear  and  tear,  and  of  bitter  disappoint- 
ment, a  reward  for  his  indomitable  perseverance 
was  at  last  in  siofht,  oreater  than  he  had  ever  antici- 
pated.  The  greatest  of  Confederate  commerce  de- 
stroyers had  been  brought  to  bay,  and  forced  to  an 
open  fight.  She  had  captured  sixty-eight  vessels 
under  the  Stars  and  Stripes,  and  had  sunk  one  man- 
of-war.  She  had  been  sought  in  vain  by  twenty- 
five  United  States  warships,  and  her  pursuit  had 
cost  over  seven  millions  of  dollars.  Besides  this, 
there  was  a  personality  in  the  coming  encounter  : 
her  captain  had  been  Winslow's  shipmate,  mess- 
mate and  roommate  during  a  previous  war,  and  his 


The  Destruction  of  the  Alabama.      195 

daring,  skill  and  bravery  then  had  well-nigh  made 
him  a  hero  in  the  eyes  of  the  more  modest  man. 
Can  it  be  doubted  that,  when  Winslow  focused  his 
glass  upon  the  oncoming  Alabama,  he  realized  that 
the  supreme  moment  of  his  life  was  at  hand  ?  Re- 
turning the  glass  to  the  quartermaster,  he  quietly 
directed  his  executive  to  beat  to  quarters. 

For  five  days  he  had  given  most  deliberative 
thought  to  this  encounter ;  no  contingency  seems 
to  have  been  overlooked.  First,  it  was  desirable 
to  select  a  position,  not  merely  outside  neutral 
waters,  but  well  outside,  as  had  been  suggested  by 
the  following  letter  : 

"  Paris,  June  i6,  1S64. 
"  Sir  : 

"  This  will  be  delivered  to  you  by  my  son  and  assistant 
secretary  of  legation.  I  have  had  a  conversation  this  after- 
noon with  Mr.  Drouyn  de  Lhuys,  minister  of  foreign  affairs. 
He  says  they  have  given  the  Alabama  notice  that  she  must 
leave  Cherbourg,  but  in  the  meantime  you  have  come  in  and 
are  watching  the  Alabama,  and  that  this  vessel  is  anxious  to 
meet  you,  and  he  supposes  you  will  attack  her  as  soon  as  she 
gets  three  miles  off  the  coast  ;  that  this  will  produce  a  fight 
which  will  be  at  best  a  fight  in  waters  which  may  or  may  not 
be  French  waters,  as  accident  may  determine  ;  that  this  would 
be  offensive  to  the  dignity  of  France  to  have  a  fight  under 
such  circumstances,  and  France  will  not  permit  it ;  that  the 
Alabama  shall  not  attack  you,  nor  you  her,  within  the  3  miles, 
nor  on  or  about  that  distance  off. 

"  Under  such  circumstances  I  do  not  suppose  that  they 
would  have,  on  principles  of  international  law,  the  least  right 
to  interfere  with  you  if  3  miles  off  the  coast,  but  if  you  lose 
nothing  by  fighting  6  or  7  miles  off  the  coast  instead  of  3  you 
had  best  do  so.  You  know  better  than  I  (who  have  little  or 
no   knowledge  of   the  relative   strength  of   the   two  vessels) 


196  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

whether  the  pretense  of  the  Alabama  of  a  readiness  to  meet 
you  is  more  than  a  pretense,  and  I  do  not  wish  you  to  sacrifice 
any  advantage  if  you  have  it.  I  suggest  only  that  you  avoid 
all  unnecessary  trouble  with  France,  you  know  what  the 
Government  would  expect  of  you.  You  will  of  course  yield 
no  real  advantage  to  which  you  are  entitled,  while  you  are 
careful  to  so  act  as  to  make  uselessly  no  unnecessary  compli- 
cations with  this  Government.  I  ought  to  add  that  Mr. 
Seward's  dispatch,  dated  20th  May,  1864,  was  in  the  following 
words  : 

" '  The  Niagara  will  proceed  with  as  much  dispatch  as 
possible  to  cruise  in  European  waters,  and  the  Dictator,  as 
soon  as  she  shall  be  ready  for  sea  (which  is  expected  to  be 
quite  soon),  will  follow  her,  unless  in  the  meantime  advices 
from  yourself  and  Mr.  Adams  shall  be  deemed  to  furnish 
reasons  for  a  change  of  purpose  in  that  respect.' 

"  That  you  may  understand  exactly  the  condition  of  things 
here  in  regard  to  the  Alabama,  I  send  you  herewith  a  copy  of 
a  communication  from  the  minister  of  marine  to  the  naval 
prefect  at  Cherbourg,  furnished  me  by  the  minister  of  foreign 

affairs. 

"  Respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

"  W.  L.  Dayton. 
"  Captain  Winslow, 

''  U.  S.  S.  'Xearsarge.'" 

Accordingly,  when  it  was  certain  that  the 
Alabama  was  seeking  an  encounter,  the  Kearsarge 
was  headed  seaward.  In  moving  a  few  miles  in 
that  direction,  Winslow  was  also  insuring  time  for 
full  steam  to  form  in  all  the  boilers.  At  the 
same  time,  by  the  captain's  order,  a  national  flag* 
was  run  up  to  the  main  truck  "  in  stops,"  to  be  un- 
furled in  case  the  one  at  the  peak  was  shot  away. 
It  was  the  only  additional  preparation  necessary. 

'  This  flag  was  unfurled  on  the  new  battleship  Kearsarge  when  she  was 
launched. 


The  Destruction  of  the  Alaba7na.     197 

Then,  for  a  few  minutes,  Captain  Winslow  re- 
tired to  his  cabin.  No  Christian  man  who  has 
ever  been  in  battle  can  doubt  how  those  few 
minutes  were  spent.  When  he  reappeared,  it  was 
noted  that  he  had  exchanged  a  new  cap  for  an  old 
one,  only  worn  in  bad  weather.  The  exchange  was 
probably  an  instinctive  act,  showing  the  mind  pre- 
pared to  battle  with  shot  and  shell,  even  as  it  had 
been  so  often  in  the  past  to  battle  with  wind  and 
waves. 

At  10:50,  upon  being  assured  that  he  was  about 
seven  miles  from  land,  Winslow  ordered  the  Kear- 
sarge  headed  directly  for  the  Alabama.  With 
glasses  in  hand,  he  got  upon  an  arm-chest  on  the 
quarterdeck,  well  aft  and  close  to  the  starboard  bul- 
warks, where  he  remained  throughout  the  action. 
This  could  not  have  been  an  accidental  selection, 
for  those  familiar  with  the  Kearsarge  as  she  then 
was, — with  a  flush  deck  aft, — will  readily  see  that 
the  position  was  an  ideal  one  for  the  commanding 
officer.  With  half  his  body  above  the  rail,  he  had 
a  perfect  view  of  his  adversary,  and  was  himself  in 
plain  view  of  the  helmsmen  and  the  men  at  the 
battery.  Within  easy  range  of  his  voice  were  the 
quartermaster  at  the  wheel,  the  officer  at  the  engine 
hatch  bell,  and  the  officers  directing  the  fire  of  the 
guns. 

The  two  ships,  at  full  speed,  rapidly  neared  each 
other.  At  10:57,  when  they  were  about  a  mile 
apart,  the  Alabama  seemed  to  slow  down,  then 
sheered  to  port  and  fired  her  starboard  broadside. 
The  shell  hurtled  high  above  the  Kearsarge,  and 


198  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

a  foretopmast  backstay  parted  like  a  snapped  bow- 
string. No  reply  was  made,  not  even  a  change  of 
course,  for  here  again  forethought  had  entered  in. 
The  Alabama  s  ofuns  had  the  oreater  ranofe,  those 
of  the  Kearsar^e  the  heavier  calibre.  If  a  ranee 
could  be  chosen  where  the  latter  would  be  effective, 
the  advantage  for  the  former  would  disappear. 
Moreover,  Winslow  had  been  much  impressed 
with  the  structural  strength  of  the  Kcarsarge 
for  ramming  purposes  when  the  pilot  at  Ostend 
had  run  her,  bows-on,  into  the  pier,  so  he  even 
contemplated,  should  opportunity  warrant  it,  run- 
ning his  adversary  down,  having,  as  we  have  seen, 
carefully  drilled  his  men  to  repel  boarders  in  such 
a  contingency. 

Again  the  Alabama  yawed,  and  a  second  broad- 
side was  delivered.  This  unexpected  rapidity  of 
fire  made  it  dangerous  for  the  Kearsai^ge  to  con- 
tinue her  end-on  approach,  for  any  chance  hit  was 
liable  to  rake  her  decks  ;  so,  with  all  available  guns 
pointed  to  starboard,  she  sheered  to  port  and  drew 
off  on  the  Alabama  s  bow,  receiving,  as  she  did  so, 
part  of  a  third  broadside.  At  eleven  o'clock  the 
Kearsarge  s  forecastle  gun  was  fired  to  get  the 
range,  and  the  action  became  general  as  the  ships 
drew  abreast,  the  fire  of  the  Kearsarge  almost  im- 
mediately taking  effect,  while  that  of  the  Alabama 
continued  rapid  and  wild. 

Conning  his  ship  calmly  by  motion  of  hand. 
Captain  Winslow  ported  the  helm  to  run  under  the 
A labama  s  stern.  It  was  his  purpose  now  to  rake 
his  adversary,  then  range  up  on  her  port  side  and 


The  Destruction  of  the  Alabama.      199 

engage  in  a  running  fight  to  seaward,  forcing  the 
Alabama  continually  off  shore  until  the  best  ship 
won  ;  but  his  alert  opponent,  to  avoid  being  raked, 
also  put  his  helm  hard  aport.  Thus  the  two  ships 
fell  to  steaming  around  in  a  circle  on  opposite 
headings,  broadside  to  broadside,  and  at  full  speed, 
both  drifting  westward  with  a  three-knot  current, 
while  gradually  shortening  the  range  from  900  to 
500  yards. 

It  soon  became  apparent  to  Winslow  that  al- 
though his  manoeuvre  had  resulted  differently  from 
what  he  expected,  it  had  forced  upon  his  adversary 
a  course  of  action  from  which  he  could  not  diverge 
without  the  risk  of  his  ship  being  raked,  and  which 
therefore  kept  him  from  drawing  toward  the  neutral 
waters  which  might  give  her  shelter  if  crippled. 

The  fire  of  the  Kearsarge  s  guns  was  controlled 
by  a  most  admirable  discipline.  Ranges  were  care- 
fully estimated,  the  sighting  was  deliberate,  and 
the  passing  of  smoke  was  awaited  with  patience. 
The  characteristics  of  the  man  who  commanded  her 
seemed  to  have  imbued  the  whole  ship's  company. 

Before  gfoinof  into  the  details  of  this  memorable 
sea  fiofht,  it  will  be  instructive  to  note  the  distri- 
bution  of  the  personnel  on  the  two  ships. 

The  fiofhtinof  force  of  the  Keai^sarsre  was  divided 
into  three  gun  divisions,  a  powder  division,  and  a 
master's  division.  The  First  Division,  commanded 
by  Acting  Master  James  R.  Wheeler,  included  the 
forward  i  i-inch  pivot-gun,  and  the  28-pound  rifle 
on  the  topgallant  forecastle.  The  latter,  which 
fired  the  first  shot  from  the  Federal  vessel,  and  was 


200  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

used  as  a  range  finder,  was  manned  by  the  marines 
under  the  immediate  charo^e  of  Actingf  Master's 
Mate  Charles  H.  Danforth.  The  Second  Division 
was  stationed  at  the  after  i  i-inch  pivot,  commanded 
by  Acting  Master  E.  M.  Stoddard.  The  Third 
Division  included  the  four  32-pounders  in  the  waist 
of  the  ship,  commanded  by  Acting  Master  D.  H. 
Sumner.  The  Master's  Division,  engaged  in  the 
navigating  duties  of  the  ship,  and  in  noting,  re- 
porting, and  repairing  damages,  was  in  charge  of 
Midshipman  E.  F.  Preble.  Men  from  this  division 
were  also  detailed  for  the  12-pounder  howitzer 
under  the  forecastle,  but,  although  frequently  fired, 
this  gun  was  never  really  in  action. 

Chief  Engineer  Cushman  had  general  charge  of 
his  department.  Assistant  Engineer  Badlam  was 
in  charofe  of  the  engfines  and  Assistant  Eno-ineer 
Miller  in  charge  of  the  boilers,  while  Assistant  En- 
gineer  McConnell  was  stationed  on  deck  at  the 
engine  bells.  An  excellent  and  important  feature 
was  that  of  specially  detailing  an  engineer  officer, 
Mr.  Smith,  to  take  charg-e  of  the  fire  hose  durinof 
the  action.  The  shell  supply  was  conducted  by 
Acting  Master's  Mate  Ezra  Bartlett,  and  the  pow- 
der supply  by  Gunner  F.  A.  Graham,  but  Lieuten- 
ant Commander  Thornton,  the  executive  officer, 
states  in  his  official  report :  "  The  powder  division 
received  my  particular  attention,  and  its  important 
service  was  promptly  and  thoroughly  rendered." 
Further  extracts  from  Mr.  Thornton's  very  com- 
plete battle  report  to  the  captain  give  some  idea 
of  Winslow's  thorough  control  of  the  various  fight- 


The  Destruction  of  the  Alabama.     201 

ing  elements.  Thornton  says  :  "  It  is  unnecessary 
for  me  to  call  your  attention  to  the  officers  com- 
manding the  gun  or  master's  divisions,  as  their 
duty  was  performed  under  your  own  eye, 

"In  conclusion,  sir,  let  me  congratulate  you  on  the 
success  of  your  plan  of  battle,  and  compliment  you 
on  the  skill  and  judgment  displayed  in  its  execution," 

Of  the  disposition  of  the  personnel  on  the  Ala- 
bama, there  is  not  much  official  detail ;  the  general 
disposition  of  forces  must  have  been  almost  iden- 
tical w^ith  that  on  the  Kearsarge,  for  the  deck 
plans  of  the  two  ships  differed  in  no  essential  par- 
ticular. There  were  raised  "  horse  blocks  "  well  aft 
on  the  Alabama's  quarterdeck,  and  the  one  on  the 
starboard  side  was  occupied  by  Captain  Semmes, 
glasses  in  hand,  during  the  greater  part  of  the  ac- 
tion, although  in  the  early  part  he  is  described  as 
being  just  forward  of  the  starboard  fore-rigging. 
First  Lieutenant  Kell  is  mentioned  as  moving  from 
point  to  point,  giving  a  good  deal  of  individual  ad- 
monition and  advice,  watching  closely  the  injuries 
to  his  ship,  and  sometimes  the  movements  of  the 
Kearsarge.  Nevertheless,  the  gun  pointers  seem 
to  have  been  left  very  much  to  themselves,  and  a 
general  lack  of  control  of  fire  evidently  prevailed. 
No  attempt  or  preparation  appears  to  have  been 
made  to  stop  the  shot-holes  at  the  waterline,  and 
these  became  the  mortal  wounds  of  the  ship.  The 
natural  fortitude  of  the  crew,  with  a  very  few  ex- 
ceptions, was  remarkably  good,  and,  in  several  in- 
stances, an  admirable  resourcefulness  in  emergency 
was  shown  by  men  and  officers. 


202  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

Almost  the  first  gun  from  the  Kearsai'ge  pro- 
duced casualty.  The  shell  entered  near  the  forward 
pivot  port,  crushing  the  leg  of  a  tackleman,  struck 
the  slide  rack  of  the  ofun  and  (jlanced  off,  killincr  a 
man  at  another  gun.  Quite  an  interval  then  elapsed 
without  injury  on  either  side.  At  about  11:15,  the 
Alabai7ids  spanker  gaff  swung  downward  with  a 
crash,  and  hung  in  a  tangle  of  gear,  trailing  the  flag 
beside  the  mast  about  twenty  feet  above  her  deck. 
This  orrim  battle-omen  received  a  cheer  from  the 
Kearsarge,  but  a  new  ensign  was  quickly  broken  at 
the  Alabama  s  mizzenmasthead.  Then,  for  a  few 
minutes,  the  Alabama  got  the  range,  and  seemed  to 
have  the  best  of  the  fight.  A  100-pound  shell 
crashed  into  the  Kearsarge  amidships.  The  Con- 
federates thought  it  had  penetrated  her  boilers,  and 
cheered  wildly,  but  it  was  a  little  wide  of  the  mark, 
and  passed  quite  harmlessly  through  the  engine- 
room  skylight.  The  next  roo-pounder,  striking 
under  the  Keaj^sarges  counter,  glanced  and  lodged 
in  her  sternpost,  but  did  not  explode.  Almost  im- 
mediately afterward  —  about  eighteen  minutes  after 
eleven  —  a  68-pounder  Blakely  shell  passed  through 
the  Kearsarge  s  starboard  bulwarks,  below  the  main 
rigging,  and  exploded  on  the  quarterdeck,  wounding 
three  of  the  after  pivot-gun's  crew.  Wm.  Gowin, 
ordinary  seaman,  had  his  right  leg  crushed,  and 
afterward  died  from  the  wound  in  Cherbourg  Hos- 
pital. J.  W.  Dempsey,  quarter  gunner,  had  his 
right  arm  so  badly  mangled  that  it  was  amputated 
immediately  after  the  action.  J.  Macbeth  had  his 
left  thigh  broken.     Although  a  scream  of  agony 


The  Destruction  of  the  Alabama.     203 

followed  the  explosion  of  the  shell,  all  the  men  re- 
fused assistance  from  their  companions,  and  walked 
or  dragged  themselves  to  the  fore  hatch,  where  they 
were  assisted  to  the  operating  table.  The  conduct 
of  Gowin,  during  his  trying  ordeal,  gives  the  key- 
note to  the  spirit  animating  the  Kearsarge  s  crew. 
Surgeon  Browne,  in  his  report,  says  :  "  Gowin  was 
brought  with  a  smile  upon  his  face,  although  suf- 
fering acutely  from  his  injury.  He  said,  '  It  is  all 
right,  and  I  am  satisfied,  for  we  are  whipping  the 
Alabama,'  adding,  '  I  willingly  will  lose  my  leg  or 
life,  if  it  is  necessary.'  During  the  progress  of  the 
action  he  comforted  his  suffering  comrades  by  assur- 
ing them  that  '  Victory  is  ours  ! '  Whenever  the 
guns'  crews  cheered  at  the  successful  effect  of  their 
shot,  Gowin  would  wave  his  hand  over  his  head 
and  join  in  the  shout." 

Meanwhile,  another  100-pound  shell  exploded  in 
the  Kearsarge  s  smokestack,  tearing  an  enormous 
rent.  Then  two  shot  entered  the  32 -pounder 
ports,  but,  strangely,  missed  the  gun's  crew.  One 
of  them,  however,  exploded  in  the  opposite  ham- 
mock netting  and  set  fire  to  it,  but  with  the  ad- 
mirable preparation  for  this  emergency,  it  was 
child's  play  to  extinguish  the  flames. 

During  these  few  critical  minutes,  the  thorough 
discipline,  drill  and  esprit  on  board  the  Kearsarge 
was  her  chief  safeguard,  for,  at  a  time  when  the 
gunners  might  have  been  expected  to  get  demoral- 
ized, their  gun-pointing  steadily  improved.  Here- 
tofore it  had  been  a  little  high  ;  the  injuries  to  the 
Alabama,  barring  one  man  killed  and  two  wounded. 


204  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

were  a  mainmast  pierced  and  a  gaff  shot  away. 
Now,  shells  commenced  to  tear  through  her  bul- 
warks, wounding  many  with  splinters.  Then  the 
after  pivot-gun,  which  was  doing  such  accurate  work 
against  the  Federal  vessel,  was  struck  by  a  shell,  and 
the  eighteen  men  in  the  gun's  crew,  excepting  the 
compresserman,  were  all  killed  or  wounded.  The 
after  32-pounder  was  then  secured,  and  its  crew 
transferred  to  the  pivot-gun,  but  the  demoralization 
was  complete,  and  that  gun  did  no  further  damage. 
About  the  same  time,  the  forward  pivot  crew  re- 
ceived a  shell  in  its  midst,  and  a  man  was  killed 
and  several  wounded.  Midshipman  Anderson  was 
literally  blown  to  pieces,  only  a  leg  being  left 
on  board. 

It  must  have  been  at  this  time  that,  as  Wins- 
low  states,  the  marksmen  of  the  Kearsa^^ge  were 
cautioned  to  aim  a  little  below  the  Alabama  s  water- 
line  rather  than  above  it ;  for  she  was  soon  repeat- 
edly hulled,  the  shells  exploding  between  decks  and 
ripping  holes  in  the  spar  deck  above.  One  shell 
damaged  the  rudder,  and  relieving  tackles  had  to  be 
used  for  steering. 

The  second  half  of  the  action  was  now  well  ad- 
vanced. Shell  after  shell  from  the  i  i-inch  pivots 
was  crashing  into  the  Alabama,  while  her  shot 
were  flying  wild  and  high.  No  ship  could  stand 
such  punishment  long.  Semmes  was  getting  des- 
perate. He  is  said  to  have  offered  a  large  reward 
to  the  man  who  would  silence  the  Kearsarge  s  after 
pivot. 

Suddenly  the  Stars  and  Stripes  unfurled  at  the 


The  Destruction  of  the  Alabama.     205 

Kearsarge  s  main  truck  ;  a  chance  shot  from  the 
Alabama  had  cut  the  stops,  and  this  second  battle- 
omen  was  orreeted  with  cheers  from  the  winnino- 
crew.  The  two  ships  were  now  making  their 
seventh  circle,  and  were  scarcely  five  hundred 
yards  apart.  The  Kearsarge  had  gradually  gained 
on  her  adversary,  and  was  drawing  toward  the  same 
quadrant  of  the  circle  ;  tending  to  make  her  move- 
ment one  of  pursuit.  Winslow  —  resolute,  tena- 
cious and  patient  —  believed,  as  he  afterward 
stated  in  a  letter,  that  "  the  time  for  close  action 
was  about  to  begin,"  and  ordered  grape  provided 
at  the  guns.  But  the  Alabama  was  already  mor- 
tally wounded  ;  two  11 -inch  shells  had  pierced  her 
at  the  waterline,  tearing  completely  through  the 
bunkers,  and  letting  water  into  the  very  heart  of 
the  ship,  Kell,  after  an  inspection,  reported  her 
sinkinof. 

Semmes  shifted  his  helm  to  turn  toward  the 
shore.  Winslow  righted  his,  passing  under  the 
Alabama's  stern  and  ranging  up  on  her  port  side. 
The  Alabama's  head  sails  were  set  to  pay  her  off 
on  a  new  tack,  as  she  was  settling  and  sluggish ; 
the  remnant  of  her  decimated  crew  was  disheart- 
ened and  exhausted  ;  the  pivot-guns  could  not  be 
shifted,  and  only  two  32's  now  bore  on  her  adver- 
sary, which  was  still  mercilessly  hulling  her.  Cap- 
tain Semmes  now  hauled  down  his  colors,  and  the 
Kearsarge  was  stopped,  and  ceased  firing.  Almost 
immediately,  however,  by  some  chance  never  ex- 
pained,  the  Alabama's  port  guns  were  again  fired, 
whereupon    Winslow   opened    on    her   again    and 


2o6  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

steamed  into  a  raking  position  across  her  bows. 
Then  a  white  flag  was  held  up  over  the  Confed- 
erate vessel's  stern,  and,  at  12:02,  she  was  seen  to 
be  getting  out  her  boats. 

Eiorht  minutes  later  a  boat  arrived  alono^side  the 
Kearsarge  with  a  Confederate  officer  and  twenty- 
wounded  men.  The  officer  stated  that  the  Ala- 
bama had  surrendered  and  was  sinking,  and  that 
Captain  Semmes  asked  for  assistance.  Winslow  at 
once  commenced  to  get  out  his  boats,  when  it  was 
found  that  only  two,  and  those  the  least  accessible, 
—  the  sailinof  launch  and  second  cutter  —  were  un- 
injured.  The  Confederate  officer  was  therefore 
paroled  as  soon  as  the  wounded  were  taken  on 
board,  and  he  and  his  boat  sent  to  rescue  his  ship- 
mates. He  subsequently  went  to  the  Deerlwiind 
and  never  returned  to  custody. 

Throughout  the  action,  the  Couromic  had  re- 
mained on  guard  at  the  three-mile  limit,  and  the 
Deer  hound  had  kept  about  a  mile  to  windward  of 
the  combatants.  The  latter  was  now  steamed  un- 
der the  Kearsarge  s  stern,  whereupon  Captain 
Winslow  hailed  her  and  asked  her  to  rescue  the 
drowning,  for  the  Alabama  was  already  wallowing 
with  her  quarterdeck  awash.  The  Deerhound 
steamed  at  once  toward  the  sinking  vessel,  got  out 
boats,  and  commenced  picking  up  men  from  the 
water. 

At  12:24  the  Alabama  s  stern  went  under.  Her 
bow  rose  hieh  in  the  air,  and  her  riddled  mainmast 
broke  and  fell  over  her  side  ;  then  she  slid  quickly 
down  beneath  the  waves. 


The  Destruction  of  the  Alabama.     207 

Three  of  the  Alabama  s  boats,  two  boats  from  the 
Kearsarge,  and  two  from  the  Deerhound  were  now 
engaged  in  picking  up  the  hundred  and  odd  men 
struggHng  in  the  water.  Two  French  pilot-boats 
also  arrived  on  the  scene  and  participated.  One 
of  these  delivered  the  rescued  on  board  of  the  Kear- 
sarge,  but  the  other  took  three  officers  and  six  men 
to  Cherbourg. 

While  a  o^reat  number  were  still  struororlino-  in  the 
water,  the  Deerhound  was  observed  to  have  recalled 
her  boats  and  edged  far  to  leeward.  Two  or  three 
times  suspicious  subordinates  warned  Winslow  that 
she  seemed  to  be  making  off,  but  he  refused  to  be- 
lieve it  until  she  was  seen  to  be  actually  steaming 
toward  Southampton  at  full  speed.  It  was  after- 
ward learned  that  she  carried  Captain  Semmes, 
Lieutenant  Kell  and  eleven  other  officers,  and 
twenty-nine  of  the  Alabama's  crew. 

Fifty  prisoners,  including  six  officers,  in  addition 
to  the  wounded,  were  placed  on  board  the  Kear- 
sarge  by  the  boats  engaged  in  rescue.  Of  that 
buoyant  and  confident  crew  which  had  gone  from 
Cherbourg  with  such  eclat  in  the  morning  the  grim 
record  stood  as  follows  : 

26  killed  and  drowned. 

3  dying  from  wounds  on  the  Kearsarge. 
17  wounded  and  prisoners  on  the  Kearsarge. 
50  additional  prisoners  on  the  Kearsarge. 
42  escaped  to  Southampton  on  the  Deerhound. 

9  escaped  to  Cherbourg  on  a  French  pilot-boat. 

Total,  147 

At  about  one  o'clock  the  Kearsarge  hoisted  in 


2o8  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

her  boats,  with  the  three  belonging  to  the  Alabama, 
and  steamed  toward  Cherbourg.  All  hands  were 
then  called  to  muster,  and  the  service  interrupted 
in  the  morning  was  concluded  by  an  offer  of  thanks- 
giving to  God  for  the  victory.  At  three  o'clock  the 
waitinof  throno-  that  had  watched  the  Alabaina  de- 
part  in  the  forenoon  gazed  with  awe  upon  the 
Kearsarge  as  she  entered  the  harbor  flying  from 
every  masthead  the  flags  of  victory. 

The  story  of  the  fight,  officially  told,  is  as  follows: 


'''  U.  S.  S.  '■Kearsarge^ 
"Cherbourg,  France,  June  ig,  1864 — Afternoon. 

"  Sir: 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  inform  the  Department  that  the  day 
subsequent  to  the  arrival  of  the  Kearsarge  off  this  port,  on 
the  14th  instant,  I  received  a  note  from  Captain  Semmes,  beg- 
ging that  the  Kearsarge  would  not  depart,  as  he  intended  to 
fight  her  and  would  not  delay  her  but  a  day  or  two. 

"  According  to  this  notice,  the  Alaba?na  left  the  port  of  Cher- 
bourg this  morning  at  about  9:30  o'clock. 

"  At  10  20  A  M.  we  discovered  her  steaming  toward  us.  Fear- 
ing the  question  of  jurisdiction  might  arise,  we  steamed  to  sea 
until  a  distance  of  6  or  7  miles  was  attained  from  the  Cher- 
bourg breakwater,  when  we  rounded  to  and  commenced 
steaming  for  the  Alabama.  As  we  approached  her  within 
about  1,200  yards  she  opened  fire,  we  receiving  two  or  three 
broadsides  before  a  shot  was  returned  The  action  continued, 
the  respective  steamers  making  a  circle  round  and  round  at  a 
distance  of  about  900  yards  from  each  other.  At  the  expira- 
tion of  an  hour  the  Alabama  struck,  going  down  in  about 
twenty  minutes  afterwards,  and  carrying  many  {)ersons  with  her. 

"  It  affords  me  great  gratification  to  announce  to  the  De- 
partment that  every  officer  and  man  did  his  duty,  exhibiting  a 
degree  of  coolness  and  fortitude  which  gave  promise  at  the 
outset  of  certain  victory. 


The  Destruction  of  the  Alabama.     209 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  most  respectfully,  your  obedient 
servant,  "  Jno.  A.  Winslow,  Captain. 

"  Hon.  Gideon  Welles, 

"  Secretary  of  the  JVavy,  Washington,  D.  C." 

"  U.  S.  S.  '  Kearsarge,^ 
"Cherbourg,  France,  June  20, 1S64. 

"Sir: 

"  I  enclose  herewith  the  surgeon's  report  of  the  casualties  on 
board  this  vessel  in  the  late  action  with  the  Alabama.  Al- 
though we  received  some  twenty-five  or  thirty  shots,  twelve  or 
thirteen  taking  effect  in  the  hull,  by  the  mercy  of  God  we  have 
been  spared  the  loss  of  any  one  life,  whereas  in  the  case  of 
the  Alabama  the  carnage,  I  learn,  was  dreadful. 

"  The  ships  were  about  equal  in  match,  the  tonnage  being 
the  same  ;  the  Alaba?na  carrying  one  100-pound  rifle,  with  one 
heavy  68-pounder  and  six  broadside  32-pounders  ;  the  Kear- 
sarge  carrying  four  broadside  32-pounders  and  two  11 -inch 
and  one  28-pound  rifle,  one  gun  less  than  the  Alabama. 

"  The  only  shot  which  I  fear  will  give  us  any  trouble  is  one 
100-pound  rifle,  which  entered  our  sternpost  and  remains  at 
present  unexploded. 

"  It  would  seem  almost  invidious  to  particularise  the  con- 
duct of  any  one  man  or  officer  in  which  all  had  done  their 
duty  with  a  fortitude  and  coolness  which  cannot  be  too  highly 
praised,  but  I  feel  it  due  to  my  executive  officer,  Lieutenant- 
Commander  Thornton,  who  superintended  the  working  of  the 
battery,  to  particularly  mention  him  for  an  example  of  cool- 
ness and  encouragement  of  the  men  while  fighting,  which  con- 
tributed much  toward  the  success  of  the  action. 

"  I  have  the  honor  be,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient 
servant,  "Jno.  A.  Winslow, 

"  Captain. 
"  Hon.  Gideon  Welles, 

"  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  Washington,  D.  C." 

Th.&  Kearsm'ge  was  hit  fourteen  times  in  the  hull, 
and  as  many  more  in  the  rigging,  as  shown  by  the 
following  report : 


2IO 


John  Ancrum  Winslow. 


Sir 


"6''.  5.  ^.  'Kearsarge,' 

"  Cherbourg,  June  20,  1864. 


*'I  respectfully  submit  to  you  a  statement  of  injuries  sus- 
tained by  the  U.  S.  S.  Kearsarge  in  her  hull,  sails,  rigging, 
etc.,  during  our  late  engagement  with  the  rebel  steamer  Ala- 
bama, on  the  19th  instant,  off  this  port : 


IN 

I  shot  in  starboard  gangway, 
cut  chain  and  bruised 
plank. 

I  shell  under  waist  gun,  cut 
chain  and  exploded,  cut- 
ting outside  planking. 

I  shell  under  starboard  main 
channel,  cut  off  chain 
plate,  going  through  and 
exploding. 

I  32-pounder  solid  shot  en- 
tered forward  of  forward 
pivot  port  ;  shot  lodged 
inside,  crushing  waterways. 


HULL. 

I    loo-pounder    rifle    shell 

lodged  in  sternpost. 
I  shell  through  top  of  engine 

house. 
I  shell  through  port    netting 

abreast  main  rigging. 
I   shot   and   2   shells   through 

port    netting    forward    of 

mizzen  rigging. 

1  shell    throi-igh  smokestack, 
exploding  inside  stack. 

2  shots  through  taffrail. 
I  shot  through  netting  forward 

of  mizzen  rigging  on  star- 
board inside. 


IN    SAILS. 

Spanker,  badly  torn  by  shell. 

IN    RIGGING. 

Fore-topmast  backstay  cut  of  the  maintopmast  rig- 
away,  ging. 

I  shroud  in  main  rigging  cut  Starboard    swifter  of   mizzen 

away.  rigging. 

I  screw  in  port  main  rigging,  i  screw  in  port  main  rigging. 

Starboard  maintopmast  back-  i    plate    in    starboard    main 

stay  cut  away.  channels. 

After  shroud,   starboard  side 

BOATS. 

Third  cutter,  i  shot  through     Gig,  badly  shattered, 
bottom,  starboard  gunwale 
shot  away. 
"  The  spars  all  in  good  order. 

"  Respectfully, 

"J.  C.  Walton,  Boatswain, 
"J.  S.  Thornton, 

^^Lieutenant-Commander  and  Executive  Officer. 


8 


The  Destruction  of  the  Alabama.     211 

"  Number  of  shot  and  shell  struck  the  ship  in  various  places, 
28." 

The  gunner's  report  of  ammunition  expended  is 
also  interesting  : 

"£/^.  S,  S.  '^Kearsarge' 

"  Cherbourg,    June  20,  1864. 
"Sir: 

"  I  respectfully  submit  the  following  report  of  the  expendi- 
ture of  ordnance  stores  on  board  this  ship  during  the  engage- 
ment with  the  rebel  steamer  Alaba7na  on  the  19th  instant: 
55  i5-po"nd  service  charges.       48  rifle  percussion  shell. 
55  ii-inch  5-second  shell.  100  friction  primers. 

60  6-pound  service  charges.  240  percussion  primers. 

18  32-pound  5-second  shell.         Fixed    ammunition    for   boat 
42  32-pound  solid  shot.  howitzer  : 

48  2^-pound  service  charges,      9  shrapnel,  Bormann    fused  ; 
rifle.  I  canister. 

RECAPITULATION. 

Duration  of  action 65  minutes. 

Number  of  Rounds  : 

ii-inch , re 

32-pounder 60 

32-pounder  rifle 48 

12-pound  howitzer 10 

Total  rounds 173 

"  Very  respectfully, 

"Franklin  A.  Graham, 
"  Gunner,  U.  S.  S.  '  Kearsarge. 
'  Jas.  S.  Thornton, 

"Lieutenant- Commander  and  Executive  Officer." 

Estimates  by  those  in  charge  of  the  Alabama  s 
ammunition  place  her  expenditures  at  370  shot  and 
shell. 

"  t'.  S.  S.  '  Kearsarge,' 
"  English  Channel, 
"Sir:  '' July 30th,  1864. 

"  The  despatch  of  the  Department  of  the  8th  inst.,  calling 
for  information  of  the  Alaba?na's  armament  and  complement 
of  officers  and  men,  and  also  of  the  proceedings  of  the  Deer- 
hound  has  been  received. 


2  12  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  inform  the  Department  that  accord- 
ing to  a  memorandum  handed  to  me  by  American  captains 
who  were  prisoners  in  the  Alabaina,  that  she  carried  into 
Cherbourg  a  crew,  officers  and  men,  of  either  147  or  149;  but 
what  number  joined  her  there,  I  have  no  means  of  ascertain- 
ing. Several  persons  were  prevented  by  the  police  at  Cher- 
bourg from  going  on  board,  but  it  appears  that  Mr.  Sinclair 
(Lieutenant)  was  one  of  those  who  succeeded  in  joining  her. 

"  The  rebel  officers  state  their  crew,  officers  and  men,  to 
have  been  about  150,  I  have  no  means  of  either  falsifying  or 
verifying  these  statements,  but  the  American  captains  who  were 
prisoners  respond  that  13  men  had  been  left  at  one  port  and  4 
at  another  before  the  arrival  of  the  vessel  at  Cherbourg  and 
her  complement  therefore  when  filled  was  about  170  all  told. 

"  The  statement  of  some  of  the  prisoners  is  that  a  number 
of  men  came  on  board  at  Cherbourg,  and  the  night  before  the 
action,  that  boats  were  going  to  and  fro  from  the  Alabama  to 
the  Deerhound  and  in  the  morning  they  saw  strange  men  who 
were  made  captains  of  guns,  who  were  supposed  to  be  Naval 
reserve  men,  brought  in  the  Deerhound. 

"  In  my  despatch  of  the  19th  ult.  I  informed  the  Depart- 
ment that  the  battery  of  Alabama  consisted  of  one  one  hundred 
pounder  rifled  pivot,  one  heavy  sixty-eight  pounder  (9000  lbs,), 
and  six  thirty-two  pounder  guns. 

"  I  am  Sir 

"  Very  respectfully 

"  Your  obedient  servant 

"  Jno,  a.  Winslow,  Captain. 
"  Hon.  Gideon  Welles 
"  Secretary  of  the  Navy, 

"Washington,  D.  C." 

"  U.  S.  S.  '  Kcarsarge,' 
"  English  Channel, 
"  July  30th.  1864. 
•'  Sir: 

"  In  obedience  to  instructions  of  the  Department,  I  have 
the  honor  to  make  the  following  supplementary  report  of  the 


The  Destruction  of  the  Alabama.      213 

action  between  the  Kearsarge  2LX\d.  Alabama.  On  the  morning 
of  the  19th  ult.,  the  day  being  fine,  with  a  hazy  atmosphere, 
wind  moderate  from  the  westward,  at  lo  o'clock,  was  near  the 
buoy,  which  marks  the  line  of  shoals  to  the  eastward  of  Cher- 
bourg; and  distant  about  three  miles  from  the  eastern  entrance 
which  bore  to  the  southward  and  westward.  At  twenty 
minutes  after  lo  o'clock,  the  Alabama  was  descried  coming 
out  of  the  western  entrance;  accompanied  by  the  Couronne 
(Iron  Clad).  I  had  in  an  interview  with  the  Admiral  at  Cher- 
bourg, assured  him  that  in  the  event  of  an  action  occurring 
with  the  Alabama,  that  the  position  of  the  ships  should  be  so 
far  off  shore,  that  no  questions  could  be  advanced  about  the 
line  of  jurisdiction.  Accordingly,  to  perfect  this  object,  and 
with  the  double  purpose  of  drawing  the  Alabama  so  far  off 
shore  that,  if  disabled  she  could  not  return,  I  directed  the 
ship's  head  seaward  and  cleared  for  action  with  the  battery 
pivoted  to  starboard.  Having  attained  a  point  about  seven 
miles  from  the  shore,  the  head  of  the  Kearsarge  was  turned 
short  round,  and  the  ship  steered  directly  for  the  Alabama. 
My  purpose  being  to  run  her  down,  or  if  circumstnces  did  not 
warrant  it,  to  close  in  with  her.  Hardly  had  the  Kearsarge 
come  round  before  the  Alabama  sheered,  presented  her  star- 
board battery,  and  slowed  her  engines.  On  approaching  her 
at  long  range  of  about  a  mile  she  opened  her  full  broadsides, 
the  shot  cutting  some  of  our  rigging,  and  going  over  and 
alongside  of  us. 

"  Immediately  I  ordered  more  speed,  but  in  two  minutes 
the  Alabama  had  loaded  and  again  fired  another  broadside, 
and  following  it  with  a  third,  without  damaging  us  except  in 
rigging.  We  had  now  arrived  within  about  nine  hundred 
yards  of  her,  and  I  was  apprehensive  that  another  broadside, 
nearly  raking  as  it  was,  would  prove  disastrous.  Accordingly, 
I  ordered  the  Kearsarge  sheered,  and  opened  on  the  Alabama. 
The  position  of  the  vessels  was  now  broadside  and  broadside, 
but  it  was  soon  apparent  that  Captain  Semmes  did  not  seek 
close  action.  I  became  then  fearful  lest  after  some  fighting, 
that  he  would  again  make  for  the  shore.  To  defeat  this,  I 
determined  to  keep  full  spee4  on,  and  with  a  port  helm  to  run 


214  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

under  the  stern  of  the  Alabama  and  rake,  if  he  did  not  prevent 
it  by  sheering  and  keeping  his  broadside  to  us.  He  adopted 
this  mode  as  a  preventative,  and  as  a  consequence,  the 
Alahaina  was  forced,  with  a  full  head  of  steam,  into  a  circular 
track  during  the  engagement. 

"  The  effect  of  this  manoeuvre  was  such,  that  at  the  last  of 
the  action,  when  the  Alabama  would  have  made  off,  she  was 
near  five  miles  from  the  shore,  and  had  the  action  continued 
from  the  first,  in  parallel  lines,  with  her  head  in  shore,  the  line 
of  jurisdiction  would  no  doubt  have  been  reached. 

"  The  firing  of  the  Alabaf?ia  from  the  first  was  rapid  and  wild, 
towards  the  close  of  the  action,  her  firing  became  better.  Our 
men,  who  had  been  cautioned  against  rapid  firing  without 
direct  aim,  were  much  more  deliberate,  and  the  instructions 
given  to  point  the  heavy  guns  below,  rather  than  above  the 
water  line,  and  clear  the  deck  with  the  lighter  ones,  was  fully 
observed. 

"  I  had  endeavored  with  a  port  helm  to  close  in  with  the 
Alaba}Jta,  but  it  was  not  until  just  before  the  close  of  the 
action  that  we  were  in  position  to  use  grape,  this  was  avoided, 
however,  by  her  surrender.  The  effect  of  the  training  of  our 
men  was  evident,  nearly  every  shot  from  our  guns  was  telling 
fearfully  on  the  Alabama,  and  on  the  seventh  rotation  on  the 
circular  track,  she  winded,  setting  fore  trysail  and  two  jibs, 
with  head  in  shore. 

"  Her  speed  was  now  retarded,  and  by  winding,  her  port 
broadside  was  presented  to  us,  with  only  two  guns  bearing; 
not  having  been  able,  as  I  learned  afterwards,  to  shift  over 
but  one.  I  saw  now  that  she  was  at  our  mercy,  and  a  few 
more  guns,  well  directed,  brought  down  her  flag.  I  was 
unable  to  ascertain  whether  they  had  been  hauled  down  or 
shot  away,  but  a  white  flag  having  been  displayed  over  the 
stern,  followed  by  two  guns  fired  to  leeward,  our  fire  was  re- 
served; two  minutes  had  not  more  than  elapsed  before  she 
again  opened  on  us  with  the  two  guns  on  the  port  side.  This 
drew  our  fire  again  and  the  Kearsarge  was  immediately 
steamed  ahead  and  laid  across  her  bows  for  raking.  The 
white  flag  was  still  flying  and  our  fire  was  again  reserved. 


The  Destruction  of  the  Alabama.     215 

Shortly  after  this,  her  boats  were  seen  to  be  lowering,  and  an 
officer  in  one  of  them  came  alongside  and  informed  us  the 
ship  had  surrendered  and  was  fast  sinking.  In  twenty 
minutes  from  this  time,  the  Alabama  went  down,  her  mainmast, 
which  had  received  a  shot,  breaking  near  the  head,  as  she 
sunk;  and  her  bow  rising  high  out  of  the  water,  as  her  stern 
rapidly  settled.  The  fire  of  the  Alabatna,  though  it  is  stated 
that  she  discharged  370  or  more  shell  and  shot,  was  not  of 
serious  damage  to  the  Kearsarge.  Some  thirteen  or  fourteen 
of  these  had  taken  effect  in  and  about  the  hull,  and  sixteen  or 
seventeen  about  the  mast  and  rigging.  The  casualties  were 
small,  only  three  persons  having  been  wounded,  yet  it  is  a 
matter  of  surprise  that  so  few  were  injured,  considering  the 
number  of  projectiles  that  came  aboard.  Two  shot  passed 
through  the  port  in  which  the  thirty-twos  were  placed,  with 
men  thickly  stationed  around  them,  one  taking  effect  in  the 
hammock  netting,  and  the  other  going  through  the  port  on 
the  opposite  side;  yet  no  one  was  hit,  the  captain  of  one  of 
the  guns  being  only  knocked  down,  by  the  wind  of  the  shot, 
as  was  supposed.  The  fire  of  the  Kearsarge,  although  only 
(173)  one  hundred  and  seventy-three  projectiles  had  been  dis- 
charged, according  to  the  prisoner's  accounts,  was  terrific. 
One  shot  alone  had  killed  and  wounded  eighteen  men  and 
disabled  the  gun;  another  had  entered  the  coal  bunkers,  ex- 
ploding, and  completely  blocked  up  the  engine-room;  and 
Captain  Semmes  states,  shot  and  shell  had  taken  effect  in  the 
sides  of  his  vessel,  tearing  large  holes  by  explosion,  and  his 
men  were  everywhere  knocked  down. 

"  Of  the  casualties  on  the  Alabama,  no  correct  account  can 
be  given.  One  hundred  and  fifteen  persons  reached  the 
shore,  either  in  England  or  France,  after  the  action.  It  is 
known  that  the  Alabatna  carried  a  crew,  officers  and  men,  of 
about  (150)  one  hundred  and  fifty  into  Cherbourg,  and  that 
while  in  the  Southern  Ocean,  that  her  complement  was  about 
one  hundred  and  seventy,  but  desertions  had  reduced  this 
complement. 

"  The  prisoners  state  that  a  number  of  hien  came  on  board 
at  Cherbourg;  and  the  night  before  the  action,  boats  were 


2i6  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

going  to  and  fro;  and  in  the  morning  strange  men  were  seen, 
who  were  stationed  as  captains  of  the  guns.  Among  these 
there  was  one  Lieutenant  (Sinclair)  who  joined  her  at  Cher- 
bourg. 

"  The  Alabama  had  been  five  days  in  preparation;  she  had 
taken  in  350  tons  of  coal,  which  brought  her  down  into  the 
water.  The  Kearsarge  had  only  120  tons  in;  but,  as  an 
offset  to  this,  her  sheet  chains  were  stowed  outside,  stopped 
up  and  down,  as  an  additional  preventive  and  protection  to 
her  more  empty  bunkers.  The  number  of  the  crew  of  the 
Kearsarge,  including  officers  and  sick  men,  was  one  hundred 
and  sixty-three,  and  her  battery  numbered  seven  guns,  two 
eleven  inch,  one  thirty  pounder  rifle,  and  four  light  thirty-two 
pounder  guns. 

"  The  battery  of  ihe  Alabama  numbered  eight  guns;  one 
heavy  sixty-eight  of  9000  lbs.,  one,  one  hundred  and  ten 
pounder  rifle,  and  six  heavy  thirty-two  pounder  guns. 

"  In  the  engagement  the  Alabama  fought  seven  guns  and 
the  Kearsarge  five,  both  exercising  the  starboard  battery, 
until  the  Alabama  winded,  using  her  port  battery,  with  one 
gun,  and  another,  shifted  over. 

"  The  collateral  events  connected  with  this  action  have 
already  been  laid  before  the  Department. 

"  I  enclose  a  diagram  showing  the  track,  which  was  de- 
scribed during  the  engagement,  by  the  rotary  course  of  the 
vessels.  ..  j  ^^^^  ^j^^  ^^^^^  ^^  ^^ 

"  Very  respectfully 

"  Your  obedient  servant 

"  Jno.  a.  Winslow,  Captain. 
"  Hon,  Gideon  Welles, 
'  *  Secretary  of  the  Navy 
"  Washington,  D.  C." 

"  U.  S.  S.  '  A'earsarge,' 
"  Cherbourg,  France, 

"  yune  2ji/i,  1864. 

"Sir: 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  enclose  herewith  a  list  of  the  names 
of  the  men  who  during  the  engagement  of  the  Alabama  and 


The  Destruction  of  the  Alabama.     2 1 7 

Kearsarge  exhibited  marked  coolness  and  good  conduct  and 
for  such  have  been  recommended  by  the  divisional  command- 
ers as  deserving  special  reference  to. 

"  It  affords  me  pleasure  to  report  that  William  Smith, 
Q.M.,  was  captain  of  the  ii-inch  gun  which  according  to  the 
rebel  accounts,  did  such  execution  that  a  reward  was  offered 
by  Captain  Semmes  to  silence  his  gun. 

"  Smith  is  well  worthy  both  from  education  and  otherwise 
to  the  appointment  of  a  Master's  Mate. 

'*  Jno.  F.  Bickford,  who  during  the  engagement  and  from 
long  exampled  good  conduct  and  also  education  is  entitled  to 
this  reward.  Both  of  these  men  are  so  highly  spoken  of  by 
the  officers  that  it  is  but  their  due  that  my  report  should  refer 
in  a  special  manner  to  them. 

**  I  have  the  honor  to  be 
"  Very  respectfully 

"  Your  obedient  servant 

"  Jno.  a.  Winslow,  Captain. 
*'  Hon.  Gideon  Welles, 
' '  Secretary  of  the  Navy, 
"  Washington,  D.  C." 

"  P.  S. — I  omitted  to  state  that  the  Carpenter's  Mate  of 
this  vessel,  Mark  G.  Ham,  of  Portsmouth,  is  most  particularly 
recommended  for  promotion  by  the  Executive  officer.  He  is 
in  my  opinion  fully  entitled  to  it,  from  his  conduct  in  the 
action,  but  not  more  than  from  his  faithful  and  ever  willing 
performance  of  duty  during  the  cruise." 

*♦  Enc.  No.  18. 

"  James  Haley,  C.F. 
"  Jno.  B.  Bickford,  Cox. 
"  Chas.  A.  Read,  Cox. 
•'  Edward  Wilt. 
"Wm.  Smith,  Q.M. 
"Wm.  Bond,  B.M. 
"  Charles  Moore,  Sea. 
'*  Geo.  Harrison,  Sea. 
"  Thos.  Perry,  B.M. 


2i8  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

"  John  Hayes,  Cox. 

"  Geo.  E.  Read,  Sea. 

"  Robert  Strahan,  C.T. 

"  James  H.  Lee,  Sea. 

"  Joachim  Pease,  Sea.,  Colored. 

"  Wm.  B.  Poole,  Q.M. 

"  Michael  Ahearn,  Paymaster's  Stewd. 

"  Mark  G.  Ham,  Carpenter's  Mate." 

The  unfurhng  of  the  flag  at  the  Kearsarge  s 
ma  in  masthead  is  described  by  Winslow  in  a  private 
letter  : 

"  As  soon  as  the  Alabama  was  discovered  coming  out  of  the 
harbor  of  Cherbourg,  and  I  became  satisfied  that  the  chal- 
lenge of  Semmes  was  no  idle  boast,  I  gave  the  order  to  Lieut. - 
Commander  Thornton  to  clear  ship  for  action,  set  the  colors 
at  the  gaff,  and  round  up  ensigns  to  the  mast-heads,  without 
breaking  stops.  The  object  I  explained  to  him,  was  in  the 
event  of  the  Alabama^ s  shooting  away  one  or  two  of  the  flags 
we  would  have  others  to  set  immediately. 

"  The  action  commenced  and  continued,  until  the  last  gun 
of  the  Alabama  was  fired,  and  but  one  flag  (which  was  at  the 
gaff)  flying  on  board  the  Kearsarge.  The  last  gun  fired  by 
the  Alabama  broke  the  stop  of  the  flag  at  the  mainmast  head 
of  the  Kearsarge  and  unfurled  the  flag  to  the  breeze. 

"The  missive  sped  announcing  the  ^/a/^d!w<z  conquered, 
and  setting  the  flag  of  victory  on  board  the  Kearsarge.^* 


CHAPTER  XX. 

THE    CONDUCT    OF    THE    DEERHOUND. 

THE  escape  of  Semmes  and  others  in  the 
Deerhoimd  was,  for  the  moment,  a  source  of 
great  mortification  to  Winslow.  Southern  sym- 
pathizers gloated  over  it  as  marring  the  Kear- 
sarges  victory,  and  the  Federals  magnified  this  by 
a  good  deal  of  thoughtless  wailing.  The  action  of 
the  owner  of  the  yacht  laid  him  open  so  strongly 
to  suspicion  as  an  accomplice  by  prearrangement 
that  his  memory  is  not  yet  wholly  free  from  it.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  borne  out  by  subsequent  events,  the 
fate  of  Semmes  was  a  cipher  in  the  result,  and  his 
ignominious  escape  after  hauling  down  his  flag  and 
surrendering  his  vessel  was  discreditable  only  to 
himself.  It  is  the  writer's  belief  that  the  following 
letters  tell  the  whole  story  concerning  the  partici- 
pation of  the  Deerhound  in  the  closing  scenes  of 
the  battle  : 

"  U.  S,  S.  '^Kearsarge,^ 

"  Cherbourg,  June  20,  1864. 

"     .     .     .     I   have  no  time  to  write  except  to  say  that  I 

wrote  you  from  Dover  we  were  after  the  Alabama.     Semmes 

sent  me  a  challenge  immediately  on  my  arrival,  and  so  the 

Alabama's  fate  has  been  sealed.     God  be  thanked  that  all  is 


219 


2  20  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

well,  and  to  him  be  all  the  praise  and  glory.  You  will 
doubtless  see  by  the  letters  published  how  the  action  went. 
Our  boats  were  nearly  all  shot  away,  and  I  hailed  an  English 
yacht  to  go  down  and  help  save  the  drowning.  The  officer 
who  came  to  surrender  was  taken  off  with  Semmes  and  other 
officers  to  England.  The  yacht  is  named  the  Deerhou7id.  I 
shall  publish  him  as  disgracing  his  flag.  Had  I  deemed  him 
mean  enough  to  have  done  it,  I  would  have  opened  my  guns 
upon  him.  The  French  pilots  took  up  some  of  the  men  and 
carried  them  to  Cherbourg. 

Mr.  Lancaster  to  Earl  Russell,  July  i6,  1864: 

"  At  half  past  12  o'clock  we  observed  the  Alabama  to  be 
disabled  and  in  a  sinking  state;  and  as  I  saw  that  no  boats 
were  being  lowered  from  the  Kearsarge  to  save  the  crew  of  the 
sinking  ship,  it  occurred  to  me  that  the  Kearsarge  also  must 
be  disabled,  and  that  her  crew  must  be  unable  to  help  the 
people  of  the  Alabama.  Under  this  impression  I  felt  it  my 
duty  to  make  towards  the  Kearsarge  in  order  to  offer  assist- 
ance; and,  when  within  hail  of  that  vessel,  I  called  out  and 
asked  whether  I  could  afford  them  any  help,  and  the  answer 
was,  '  No,  but  for  God's  sake  do  what  you  can  to  save  them!  ' 
We  immediately  pushed  towards  the  Alabama,  and  when 
within  a  distance  of  200  yards  she  sank.  This  occurred  at 
12.50.  We  then  lowered  our  two  boats,  and  with  the  assist- 
ance of  the  Alabama's  whaleboat  and  dingy,  succeeded  in 
saving  about  forty  men,  including  Captain  Semmes  and  thir- 
teen officers.     At  i  p.m.  we  steered  for  Southampton. 

"  I  acknowledge,  my  Lord,  that  in  leaving  the  scene  of 
action  so  quickly  I  was  animated  with  a  wish  to  save  from 
captivity  Captain  Semmes  and  the  others  whom  we  had 
rescued  from  drowning;  but  I  should  have  done  the  same  for 
the  people  of  the  Kearsarge  if  they  had  been  placed  in  similar 
jeopardy.  I  am  charged  with  having  aided  in  the  escape  of 
men  who  '  had  surrendered  themselves  prisoners  of  war,'  but 
I  did  not  know  at  the  time  that  they  had  so  surrendered. 
Whether,  under  the  circumstances,  they  could  be  justly  con- 
sidered '  prisoners  of  war,'  is  a  question  which  I  will  not  pre- 


The  Conduct  of  the  Deerhound.       221 

sume  now  to  discuss,  inasmuch  as  it  is  not  necessary  for  my 
justification.  At  the  time  when  I  rescued  Captain  Semmes 
and  others  from  the  water  I  had  the  warrant  for  so  doing  in 
the  request  from  the  Captain  of  the  Kearsarge  that  I  would 
render  them  assistance.  That  request  was  not  accompanied 
with  any  condition  or  stipulation;  and  therefore,  having  got 
as  many  of  the  drowning  men  on  board  as  I  could  reach,  I 
was  not  conscious  of  being  under  any  obligation  to  consult 
the  Captain  of  the  Kearsarge  as  to  their  disposal,  and  I  took 
them  as  soon  as  possible  to  Southampton  in  compliance  with 
their  own  earnest  entreaties." 

"6^.  S.  S.  ''Kearsarge,' 
"Cherbourg,  France,  yune  21,  1864. 
"Sir: 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  report  that  toward  the  close  of  the 
action  between  the  Alabama  and  this  vessel  all  available  sail 
was  made  on  the  former  for  the  purpose  of  again  reaching 
Cherbourg.  When  the  object  was  apparent  the  Kearsarge  M^as 
steered  across  the  bow  of  the  Alabama  for  a  raking  fire,  but 
before  reaching  this  point  the  Alabatna  struck.  Uncertain 
whether  Captain  Semmes  was  not  using  some  ruse,  the  Kear- 
sarge was  stopped.  It  was  seen  shortly  afterwards  that  the 
Alabatna  was  lowering  her  boats,  and  an  officer  came  along- 
side in  one  of  them  to  say  that  they  had  surrendered  and  were 
fast  sinking,  and  begging  that  boats  would  be  dispatched  im- 
mediately for  saving  of  life.  The  two  boats  not  disabled  were 
at  once  lowered,  and  it  was  apparent  that  the  Alabama  was 
settling.  This  officer  was  permitted  to  leave  in  his  boat  to 
afford  assistance.  An  English  yacht,  the  Deerhound,  had 
approached  near  the  Kearsarge  at  this  time,  when  I  hailed 
and  begged  the  commander  to  run  down  to  the  Alabama,  as 
she  was  fast  sinking,  and  we  had  but  two  boats,  and  assist  in 
picking  up  the  men.  He  answered  affirmatively  and  steamed 
toward  the  Alabama,  but  the  latter  sank  almost  immediately. 
The  Deerhound,  however,  sent  her  boats  and  was  actively  en- 
gaged, aided  by  several  others  which  had  come  from  shore. 
These  boats  were  busy  in  bringing  the  wounded  and  others  to 
the  Kearsarge,  whom  we  were  trying  to  make  as  comfortable 


222  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

as  possible,  when  it  was  reported  to  me  that  the  Deerhound 
was  moving  off.  I  could  not  believe  that  the  commander  of 
that  vessel  could  be  guilty  of  so  disgraceful  an  act  as  taking 
our  prisoners  off,  and  therefore  took  no  means  to  prevent  it, 
but  continued  to  keep  our  boats  at  work  rescuing  the  men  in 
the  water.  I  am  sorry  to  say  that  I  was  mistaken;  the  Z>^ifr- 
/lound  vciz.dQ  off  with  Captain  Semmes  and  others,  and  also  the 
very  officer  who  had  come  on  board  to  surrender. 

"  I  learned  subsequently  that  the  Deerhound  was  a  con- 
sort of  the  Alabama^  and  that  she  received  on  board  all  the 
valuable  personal  effects  of  Captain  Semmes  the  night  before 
the  engagement. 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient 
servant, 

"  Jno.  a.  Winslow,  Captain. 
"  Hon.  Gideon  Welles, 

"  Secretary  of  the  JVavy,  Washington,  D.  C." 


"  My  despatch  of  the  21st  ulto.  informed  the  Department 
of  the  proceedings  of  the  Deerhound  yacht,  her  gradual  edging 
to  leeward,  leading  us  to  suppose  she  was  seeking  men  who 
were  drifting  in  the  current,  and  then  taking  advantage  of  the 
hazy  weather  to  make  off,  while  our  boats  were  out  busy  in 
rescuing  the  larger  part  of  the  prisoners  who  were  struggling 
in  the  water. 

"  It  was  my  mistake  at  the  moment,  that  I  could  not  recog- 
nize an  enemy,  who,  under  the  guise  ot  a  friend  was  affording 
assistance." 

Captain  Semmes  to  Flag  Officer  Samuel  Barron, 
June  21,  1864  : 

'■  .     Some  twenty  minutes  after  my  furnace  fires  had 

been  extinguished,  and  the  ship  being  on  the  pomt  of  settling, 
every  man,  in  obedience  to  a  previous  order  which  had  been 
given  to  the  crew,  jumped  overboard  and  endeavored  to  save 
himself.  There  was  no  appearance  of  any  boat  coming  to  me 
from  the  enemy  until  after  the  ship  went  down.     Fortunately, 


The  Conduct  of  the  Deerhound.       223 

however,  the  steam  yacht  Deerhound^  owned  by  a  gentleman 
of  Lancashire,  England  (Mr.  John  Lancaster),  who  was  him- 
self on  board,  steamed  up  in  the  midst  of  my  drowning  men 
and  rescued  a  number  of  both  officers  and  men  from  the 
water.  I  was  fortunate  enough  myself  thus  to  escape  to  the 
shelter  of  the  neutral  flag,  together  with  about  forty  others, 
all  told.  About  this  time  the  Kcarsarge  sent  one  and  then 
tardily,  another  boat.     .     .     ." 

Confederate  Commissioner  Mason  to  Mr.  Lan- 
caster : 

"  24  Upper  Seymour  Street,  Portman  Square, 

"London,  June  21,  1864. 

"  Dear  Sir:  I  received  from  Captain  Semmes  at  Southamp- 
ton, where  I  had  the  pleasure  to  see  you  yesterday,  a  full 
report  of  the  efficient  service  rendered  under  your  orders  by 
the  officers  and  crew  of  your  yacht,  the  Deerhound^  in  rescuing 
him,  with  thirteen  of  his  officers  and  twenty-seven  of  his  crew, 
from  their  impending  fate  after  the  loss  of  his  ship. 

"  Captain  Semmes  reports  that,  finding  the  Alabama  actually 
sinking,  he  had  barely  time  to  dispatch  his  wounded  in  his 
own  boats  to  the  enemy's  ship,  when  the  Alabama  went  down ; 
that  nothing  was  left  to  those  who  remained  on  board  but  to 
throw  themselves  into  the  sea;  their  own  boats  absent,  there 
seemed  no  prospect  of  relief  when  your  yacht  arrived  in  their 
midst  and  your  boats  were  launched;  and  he  impressively  told 
me  that  to  this  timely  and  generous  succor  he,  with  most  of  his 
officers  and  a  portion  of  his  crew,  were  indebted  for  their 
safety.  He  further  told  me  that  on  their  arrival  on  board  the 
yacht  every  care  and  kindness  were  extended  to  them  which 
their  exhausted  condition  required,  even  to  supplying  all  with 
dry  clothing 

"  I  am  fully  aware  of  the  noble  and  disinterested  spirit 
which  prompted  you  to  go  to  the  rescue  of  the  gallant  crew 
of  the  Alabama^  and  that  I  can  add  nothing  to  the  recom- 
pense already  received  by  you  and  those  acting  under  you  in 
the  consciousness  of  having  '  done  as  you  would  be  done 
by' ;  yet  you  will  permit  me  to  thank  you,  and  through  you 


2  24  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

the  captain,  officers,  and  crew  of  the  Deerhomid^  for  this 
signal  service,  and  to  say  that  in  doing  so  I  but  anticipate  the 
grateful  sentiment  of  my  country  and  of  the  Government  of 
the  Confederate  States. 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  dear  sir,  most  respectfully  and 
truly,  your  obedient  servant,  <<  j    y    Mason 

*'  John  Lancaster,  Esq., 

"  Hindley  Hall,  Wigan  (England)." 

"  Hindley  Hall, 
"Near  Wigan  (England),  June,  24,  1864. 
*'  Dear  Sir: 

"  I  am  in  due  receipt  of  your  esteemed  favor  of  the  21st 
instant,  and  am  gratified  to  find  that  the  timely  aid  we  ren- 
dered with  the  yacht  DeerJiound  to  the  gallant  captain  and 
officers  and  crew  of  the  Alabama  has  met  with  your  approval. 
I  shall  always  look  back  to  that  event  with  satisfaction,  how- 
ever much  we  may  regret  the  result  which  necessitated  inter- 
ference. ..  Yours,  very  respectfully, 

"  John  Lancaster. 
"  Hon.  J.  Y.  Mason." 

Letter  from  Mr.  Lancaster  to  the  London  Daily 

News  : 

"  Hindley  Hall, 

"Wigan,  June  27,  1864. 
"Sir: 

"  As  two  correspondents  of  your  journal,  in  giving  their  ver- 
sions of  the  fight  between  the  Alabama  and  the  Kearsarge^  have 
designated  my  share  in  the  escape  of  Captain  Semmes  and  a 
portion  of  the  crew  of  the  sunken  ship  as  '  dishonorable, '  and 
have,  moreover,  affirmed  that  my  yacht,  the  Deer/wund,  was 
in  the  harbor  of  Cherbourg  before  the  engagement,  and  pro- 
ceeded thence  on  the  morning  of  the  engagement  in  order  to 
assist  the  Alabama,  I  presume  I  may  trespass  upon  your  kind- 
ness so  far  as  to  ask  for  an  opportunity  to  repudiate  the 
imputation  and  deny  the  assertion.  They  admit  that  when 
the  Alabama  went  down  the  yacht,  being  near  the  Kearsarge, 
was  hailed  by  Captain  Winslow  and  requested  to  aid  in  picking 


The  Conduct  of  the  Deerhound.       225 

up  the  men  who  were  in  the  water;  but  they  intimate  that  my 
services  were  expected  to  be  merely  ministerial,  or,  in  other 
words,  that  I  was  to  put  myself  under  the  command  of  Captain 
Winslow,  and  place  my  yacht  at  his  disposal  for  the  capture 
of  the  poor  fellows  who  were  struggling  in  the  water  for  their 
lives.     The  fact  is,  that  when  we  passed  the  Kearsarge,  the 
captain  cried  out,  '  For  God's  sake  do  what  you  can  to 'save 
them,'  and  that  was  my  warrant  for  interfering  in  any  way  for 
the  aid  and  succor  of  his  enemies.     It  may  be  a  question  with 
some  whether,  without  that,  warrant,  I  should  have  been  justi- 
fied in  endeavoring  to  rescue  any  of  the  crew  of  the  Alabama, 
but  my  own  opinion  is  that  a  man  drowning  in  the  open  sea 
cannot  be  regarded  as  an  enemy  at  the  time  to  anybody,  and 
is  therefore  entitled  to  the  assistance  of  any  passer-by.'    Be 
this  as  it  may,  I  had  the  earnest  request  of  Captain  Winslow 
to  rescue  as  many  of  the  men  who  were  in  the  water  as  I  could 
lay  hold  of,  but  that  request  was  not  coupled  with  any  stipu- 
lation to  the  effect  that  I  should  deliver  up  the  rescued  men 
to  him  as  his  prisoners.     If  it  had  been,  I  should  have  declined 
the  task,  because  I  should  have  deemed  it  dishonorable— that 
IS,  inconsistent  with  my  notions  of  honor  — to  lend  my  yacht 
and  crew  for  the  purpose  of  rescuing  those  brave  men  from 
drowning  only  to   hand  them  over  to  their  enemies  for  im- 
prisonment,   ill-treatment,    and   perhaps  execution.     One   of 
your  correspondents  opens  a  letter  by  expressing  a  desire  to 
bring  to  the  notice  of  the  yacht  clubs  of  England  the  conduct 
of  the  commander  of  the  Deerhound  which  followed  the  en- 
gagement of  the  Alabama  and  Kearsarge.     Now  that  my  con- 
duct has  been  impugned  I  am  equally  wishful  that  it  should 
come  under  the  notice  of  the  yacht  clubs  of  England,  and  I 
am  quite  willing  to  leave  the  point  of  '  honor  '  to  be  decided 
by  my  brother  yachtsmen,   and,  indeed,   by  any  tribunal  of 
gentlemen.     As  to  my  legal  right  to  take  away  Captain  Semmes 
and  his  friends,  I  have  been  educated  in  the  belief  that  an 
English  ship  is  English  territory,  and  am  therefore  unable  even 
now  to  discover  why  I   was  more  bound   to  surrender  the 
people  of  the  Alabafna  whom  I  had  on  board  my  yacht  than 
the  owner  of  a  garden  on  the  south  coast  of  England  would 


226  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

have  been  if  they  had  swum  to  such  a  place  and  landed  there, 
or  than  the  mayor  of  Southampton  was  when  they  were  lodging 
in  that  city,  or  than  the  British  Government  is  now  that  it  is 
known  that  they  are  somewhere  in  England. 

"  Your  other  correspondent  says  that  Captain  Winslow  de- 
clares that  '  the  reason  he  did  not  pursue  the  Deerhound  or 
fire  into  her  was  that  he  could  not  believe  at  the  time  that 
anyone  carrying  the  flag  of  the  Royal  Yacht  Squadron  could 
act  so  dishonorable  a  part  as  to  carry  off  the  prisoners  whom 
he  had  requested  him  to  save  from  feelings  of  humanity.'  I 
was  not  aware  then,  and  I  am  not  aware  now,  that  the  men 
whom  I  saved  were  or  ever  had  been  his  prisoners.  Whether 
any  of  the  circumstances  which  had  preceded  the  sinking  of 
the  Alabatna  constituted  them  prisoners  was  a  question  that 
never  came  under  my  consideration  and  one  which  I  am  not 
disposed  to  discuss  even  now.  I  can  only  say  that  it  is  a  new 
doctrine  to  me  that  when  one  ship  sinks  another  in  warfare 
the  crew  of  the  sunken  ship  are  debarred  from  swimming  for 
their  lives  and  seeking  refuge  wherever  they  can  find  it,  and 
it  is  a  doctrine  which  I  shall  not  accept  unless  backed  by 
better  authority  than  that  of  the  master  of  the  Kearsarge. 
What  Captain  Winslow's  notion  of  humanity  may  be  is  a 
point  beyond  my  knowledge,  but  I  have  good  reason  for  be- 
lieving that  not  many  members  of  the  Royal  Yacht  Squadron 
would,  from  motives  of  humanity,  have  taken  Captain  Semmes 
from  the  water  in  order  to  give  him  up  to  the  tender  mercies 
of  Captain  Winslow  and  his  compatriots.  Another  reason  for 
that  hero's  forbearance  maybe  imagined  in  the  reflection  that 
such  a  performance  as  that  of  Captain  Wilkes,  who  dragged 
two  '  enemies  '  or  '  rebels  '  from  an  English  ship,  would  not 
bear  repetition.  Your  anonymous  correspondent  further  says 
that  '  Captain  Winslow  would  now  have  all  the  officers  and 
men  of  the  Alabama  as  prisoners  had  he  not  placed  too  much 
confidence  in  the  honor  of  an  Englishman  who  carried  the 
flag  of  the  Royal  Yacht  Squadron.'  This  is  a  very  question- 
able assertion,  for  why  did  Captain  Winslow  confide  in  that 
Englishman  ?  Why  did  he  implore  his  interference,  calling 
out,   '  For  God's  sake  do  what  you  can  to  save  them  ?  '     I 


The  Conduct  of  the  Deerhound.       227 

presume  it  was  because  he  could  not  or  would  not  save  them 
himself.  The  fact  is  that  if  the  captain  and  crew  of  the  Ala- 
bama had  depended  for  safety  altogether  upon  Captain  Wins- 
low,  not  one-half  of  them  would  have  been  saved.  He  got 
quite  as  many  of  them  as  he  could  lay  hold  of  time  enough  to 
deliver  them  from  drowning. 

"  I  come  now  to  the  more  definite  charges  advanced  by 
your  correspondents,  and  these  I  will  soon  dispose  of. 

"  They  maintain  that  my  yacht  was  in  the  harbor  of  Cher- 
bourg for  the  purpose  of  assisting  the  Alabama,  and  that  her 
movements  before  the  action  prove  that  she  attended  her  for 
the  same  object.  My  impression  was  that  that  yacht  was  in 
Cherbourg  to  suit  my  convenience  and  pleasure,  and  1  am 
quite  sure  that  when  there  I  neither  did  nor  intended  to  do 
anything  to  serve  the  Alabama.  We  steamed  out  on  Sunday 
morning  to  see  the  engagement,  and  the  resolution  to  do  so 
was  the  result  of  a  family  council  whereat  the  question  '  to 
go  out  '  or  '  not  to  go  out '  was  duly  discussed,  and  the  deci- 
sion in  the  affirmative  was  carried  by  the  juveniles  rather 
against  the  wish  of  both  myself  and  my  wife.  Had  I  contem- 
plated taking  any  part  in  the  movements  of  the  Alabama,  I  do 
not  think  I  should  have  been  accompanied  with  my  wife  and 
several  young  children. 

"  One  of  your  correspondents,  however,  says  that  he  knows 
that  the  Deerhound  did  assist  the  Alabama,  and  if  he  does  know 
this  he  knows  more  than  I  do.  As  to  the  movements  of  the 
Deerhound  before  the  action,  all  the  movements  with  which  I 
was  acquainted  were  for  the  objects  of  enjoying  the  summer 
morning  and  getting  a  good  and  safe  place  from  which  to 
watch  the  engagement. 

"  Another  of  your  correspondents  declares  that  since  the 
affair  it  has  been  discovered  that  the  Deerhound  was  a  consort 
of  the  Alabama,  and  on  the  night  before  had  received  many 
valuable  articles  for  safe-keeping  from  that  vessel.  This  is 
simply  untrue.  Before  the  engagement  neither  I  nor  any  of 
my  family  had  any  knowledge  of  or  communication  with  either 
Captain  Semmes,  any  of  his  officers,  or  any  of  his  crew.  Since 
the  fight  I  have  enquired  from  my  captain  whether  he  or  any 


228  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

of  my  crew  had  had  any  communication  with  the  captain  or 
crew  of  the  Alabama  prior  to  meeting  them  on  the  Decrkoufid 
after  the  engagement,  and  his  answer,  given  in  the  most  em- 
phatic manner,  has  been  '  None  whatever.' 

"  As  to  the  deposit  of  chronometers  and  other  valuable 
articles,  the  whole  story  is  a  myth.  Nothing  was  brought 
from  the  Alabama  to  the  Deerhound,  and  I  never  heard  of  the 
tale  until  I  saw  it  in  an  extract  from  your  own  columns. 
After  the  fight  was  over,  the  drowning  men  picked  up,  and  the 
Deerhound  steaming  away  to  Southampton,  some  of  the  officers 
who  had  been  saved  began  to  express  their  acknowledgments 
for  my  services,  and  my  reply  to  them,  which  was  addressed 
to  all  who  stood  around,  was,  '  Gentlemen,  you  have  no  need 
to  give  me  any  special  thanks;  I  should  have  done  exactly  the 
same  for  the  other  people  if  they  had  needed  it.'  This  speech 
would  have  been  a  needless  and,  indeed,  an  absurd  piece  of 
hypocrisy  if  there  had  been  any  league  or  alliance  between  the 
Alabama  and  the  Deerhound. 

"  Both  your  correspondents  agree  in  maintaining  that 
Captain  Semmes  and  such  of  his  crew  as  were  taken  away  by 
the  Deerhound  are  bound  in  honor  to  consider  themselves  still 
as  prisoners,  and  to  render  themselves  to  their  lawful  captors 
as  soon  as  practicable. 

"  This  is  a  point  which  I  have  nothing  to  do  with,  and 
therefore  I  shall  not  discuss  it. 

"  My  object  in  this  letter  is  merely  to  vindicate  my  conduct 
from  misrepresentation,  and  I  trust  that  in  aiming  at  this  I 
have  not  transgressed  any  of  your  rules  of  correspondence, 
and  shall  therefore  be  entitled  to  a  place  in  your  columns. 

"  I  am,  etc., 

"  John  Lancaster. 
"  The  Editor  of  tlie  Daily  News.''' 

Statement    of   the    Captain   of    the   Dccrho2i7id 

(from     Two     Years    on   the  Alabama,   by    Lieut. 

Arthur  Sinclair,  C.  S.  N.)  : 

"  On  June  9,  1864,  we  were  lying  at  St.  Malo,  where  we 
landed  Mr.  Lancaster  and  family,  after  a  cruise  among  the 


The  Conduct  of  the  Deerhoitnd.       229 

Channel  Islands.  On  their  leaving,  we  immediately  set  sail 
for  Cherbourg,  calling  on  our  way  to  Jersey  for  letters.  We 
arrived  at  Cherbourg,  and  came  to  anchor  close  to  the  Ala- 
bama, and  to  an  English  sailing-yacht,  the  Hornet.  We  had 
no  communication  with  the  Alabama  during  our  stay  in  the 
harbor,  except  to  send  alongside,  asking  permission  to  visit, 
which  they  refused,  saying  that  they  were  too  busy.  We  could 
see  from  our  vessel  that  they  were  practising  boarding-drill, 
and  surmised  that  they  had  it  in  view  to  board  the  Kearsarge 
in  the  engagement  which  rumor  in  Cherbourg  had  it  was  to 
take  place  on  the  following  Sunday. 

"  On  the  day  previous  to  the  fight  I  met  Mr.  Lancaster  and 
family  at  the  station  (as  was  my  custom),  and  informed  him 
that  the  Alabama  was  lying  in  the  harbor.  I  reminded  him 
that  she  was  built  at  Messrs.  Lairds'  yard,  at  Birkenhead, 
during  the  time  that  theZ>^^r//6'z^«^was  there  being  lengthened. 
I  also  told  him  that  the  Kearsarge  had  steamed  in  at  the  east 
end  of  the  harbor  and  out  at  the  west,  evidently  taking  a  sur- 
vey of  the  enemy.  No  doubt  this  was  a  great  advantage  to 
Capt.  Winslow,  who  also  got  at  the  same  time  a  full  report  of 
the  Alabamans  condition  from  the  American  consul  of  the  port 
— especially  as  to  the  condition  of  her  boilers,  which  I  believe 
were  in  a  very  bad  state. 

"  After  the  Alabama  went  down,  we  steamed  round  the  star- 
board quarter  of  the  Kearsarge,  and  Capt.  Winslow  asked  us 
to  render  all  assistance  possible  to  the  drowning  crew.  We 
picked  up  forty-two,  including  Captain  Semmes,  who  had  a 
life-belt  on  when  rescued.  William  Roberts,  our  chief  steward, 
recognized  Semmes  in  the  water  from  having  seen  him  pre- 
viously on  the  Confederate  steamship  Sumter,  at  Gibraltar, 
where  the  Deerhound  happened  to  be  at  the  same  time.  Mr. 
Kell,  the  first  officer  of  the  Alabafna,  was  rescued  with 
Semmes;  and  Semmes  probably  owed  his  life  to  him,  as  he 
unquestionably  did  his  liberty.  It  was  Kell  who  suggested 
that  Semmes  should  lie  flat  in  the  bottom  of  the  boat  to  pre- 
vent his  recognition  by  the  party  in  the  Kearsarge' s  launch, 
which  was  close  by  us,  and  who  donned  himself  one  of  our 
crew's  hats,  with  the  word  "  deerhound  "  on  it,  and  took  an 


230  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

oar,  so  as  to  pass  for  one  of  our  men.  The  question  was 
asked  from  the  launch  whether  Semmes  had  been  saved  or 
not.  Kell  promptly  replied,  '  He  is  drowned;  '  and  the 
assurance  was  accepted,  thus  securing  Semmes's  escape.  We 
were  sorry  we  did  not  succeed  in  saving  Mr.  Llewellyn,  the 
surgeon.  Our  boat  was  but  a  few  yards  off,  and  pulling 
toward  him,  when  he  went  down. 

"  On  our  way  to  Southampton  we  passed  the  sailing-yacht 
Hornet^  Hewitt,  master;  and  one  of  the  saved  men  remarked 
that  they  had  all  their  treasure,  including  about  sixty  chro- 
nometers, on  board  her.  The  same  evening  we  arrived  off 
Cowes,  where  Mr.  Lancaster  went  on  shore  and  reported 
himself  at  Cowes  Castle  as  a  member  of  the  Royal  Yacht 
squadron.  We  landed  all  the  saved  men  at  Southampton. 
The  next  day  Mr.  Lancaster  gave  the  Times  correspondent  all 
the  details.  Afterward  Mr.  Mason  (of  the  Mason  and  Slidell 
episode)  came  on  board,  and  thanked  Mr.  Lancaster  and 
family  for  their  kindness  and  humanity. 

"  When  Semmes  came  on  board  he  was  wounded  and  ex- 
hausted, and  a  most  miserable  object  to  look  at.  But  after  a 
little  nursing  he  came  on  deck  as  bright  as  a  dandy-cock. 
Semmes  seemed  to  be  greatly  reverenced  by  his  crew,  but  I 
think  Kell  had  their  deepest  regard.  According  to  their  idea, 
Kell  was  Semmes's  mainstay  and  chief  counsellor,  and  the 
commander  owed  much  of  his  success  and  reputation  to  his 
first  officer's  sagacity  and  promptness  of  resource. 

"  Evan  P.  Jones,  Captain, 

"  Yacht  '  Deer  hound.'  " 

The  action  of  the  Deerhoimd  was  the  subject 
of  persistent  diplomatic  discussion  between  the 
United  States  and  British  governments  for  nearly 
six  months,  and  searching  inquiry  was  made  by 
United  States  officials  in  England  and  France  to 
learn  how  far  the  yacht  had  been  an  accomplice  of 


The  Conduct  of  the  Deerhound. 


2^1 


the  Confederate  cruiser,  but  no  positive  evidence 
was  ever  found.  The  correspondence  finally  ceased 
with  no  official  concession  on  either  side.  Never- 
theless, opinion  seems  now  to  be  crystallizing. 
The  International  Peace  Conference  at  The  Haeue. 
1899,  in  formulating  a  convention  for  adapting  the 
principles  of  the  Geneva  Convention  of  1864  to 
maritime  warfare,  introduced  the  followino- : 

o 

"  Article  6.  Les  batiments  de  commerce,  yachts  oc  em- 
barcations  neutres,  portant  ou  recueillant  des  blesses,  des 
malades  ou  des  naufrages  des  belligerants,  ne  peuvent  etre 
captures  pour  le  fait  de  ce  transport,  mais  ils  restent  exposes 
a  la  capture  pour  les  violations  de  neutralite  qu'ils  pourraient 
avoir  commisses." 

"  Article  g.  Sont  prisonniers  de  guerre  les  naufrages, 
blesses  ou  malades,  d'un  belligerant  qui  tombent  au  pouvoir 
de  I'autre. 

This  convention  was  signed  by  the  representa- 
tives of  France,  Russia,  Spain,  Sweden  and  Nor- 
way, Denmark,  Belgium,  Holland,  Portugal,  Greece, 
Mexico,  Persia,  Siam,  Bulgaria,  Romania  and  Mon- 
tenegro. It  was  not  signed  by  the  representatives 
of  the  United  States,  but  in  the  United  States 
Naval  War  Code  prepared  under  the  direction  of 
the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  approved  by  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States,  and  issued  for  the  navy, 
June  27,  1900,  is  found  : 

'*  Article  2j.  Merchant  vessels,  yachts,  or  neutral  vessels 
that  happen  to  be  in  the  vicinity  of  active  maritime  hostilities, 
may  gather  up  the  wounded,  sick,  or  shipwrecked  of  the 
belligerents.  Such  vessels,  after  this  service  has  been  per- 
formed, shall  report  to  the  belligerent  commander  controlling 


232 


John  Ancrum  Winslow. 


the  waters  thereabouts,  for  future  directions,  and  while  ac- 
companying a  belligerent  will  be,  in  all  cases,  under  his  orders; 
and  if  a  neutral,  be  designated  by  the  national  flag  of  that 
belligerent  carried  at  the  foremasthead,  with  the  red  cross 
flag  flying  immediately  under  it. 

"  These  vessels  are  subject  to  capture  for  any  violation  of 
neutrality  that  they  may  commit.  Any  attempt  to  carry  off 
such  wounded,  sick,  and  shipwrecked,  without  permission,  is 
a  violation  of  neutrality.     .     .     ." 


CHAPTER   XXI 


THE    SOJOURN    OF    THE    VICTOR  AT  CHERBOURG. 


IT  was  now  necessary  to  repair  the  damages  of 
battle,  to  place  the  wounded  in  hospitals, 
and  to  dispose  of  the  prisoners  who  encumbered 
the  Kearsarge  s  decks  and  for  whom  she  had  no 
berthing  space.  With  characteristic  promptness 
Captain  Winslow  decided  to  release  his  prisoners 
on  parole  the  afternoon  of  the  day  of  battle.  This 
action  was  strongly  disapproved  by  the  Navy  De- 
partment. It  was,  however,  perfectly  legitimate, 
and  the  following  correspondence  demonstrates  its 
expediency : 


Sir: 


U.  S.  S.  '  Kearsarge^ 
"Cherbourg,  France, 

"  yune  21  st,  1864. 


"  I  have  the  honor  to  report  that  the  number  of  prisoners 
brought  on  board  the  Kearsarge,  belonging  to  the  Alabama, 
was  seventy,  six  officers  and  sixty-four  men.  One  officer — 
Carpenter — and  two  men  dying  and  seventeen  wounded  are 
included  in  this  number. 

"  As  we  have  very  contracted  accommodations  for  our  own 
crew,  without  increase,  it  became  indispensable  to  send  these 
prisoners  on  shore,  and  their  parole  was  taken.  With  excep- 
tion of  the  Doctor, — non-combatant, — who  was  put  on  parole 
that  he  might  attend  to  his  wounded,  the  officers  were  held  as 
prisoners  of  war. 

233 


234  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

"  I  learn  that  three  officers  with  six  men  were  carried  on 
shore  at  Cherbourg  by  pilot  boats,  but  of  the  number  who 
reached  England  in  the  Deerhound,  I  have  no  reliable  accounts. 
"  I  have  the  honor  to  be 
"  Very  respectfully 

"  Your  obedient  servant, 

"  Jno.  a.  Winslow,  Captain. 
"  Hon.  Gideon  Welles, 
"  Secretary  of  the  JVavy, 

"Washington,  D.  C." 

"  U.  S.  S.  ^  Kearsarge* 
"Sir: 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  enclose  herewith  the  original  written 
parole  subscribed  by  the  prisoners  of  the  Alabama. 
"  I  have  the  honor  to  be 
"  Very  respectfully, 

"  Your  obedient  servant, 

"  Jno.  a.  Winslow,  Captain. 
"  Hon.  Gideon  Welles, 
' '  Secretary  of  the  JVavy, 
"Washington,  D.  C." 

"  Enclosures. 

*'  U.  S.  S.  '  Kearsarge^ 
"  Port  of  Cherbourg,  France, 

' '  fime  ig,  1S64. 

"  We,  the  seamen  and  others  lately  belonging  to  the  steamer 
Alabama^  and  captured  in  the  action  between  that  vessel  and 
the  U.  S.  S.  Kearsarge  off  this  port  on  the  19th  day  of  June, 
1864,  now  prisoners  of  war,  do  hereby  solemnly  pledge  our 
sacred  word  of  honor  not  to  engage  in  arms  against  or  other- 
wise employ  ourselves  against  the  interest  of  the  Government 
of  the  United  States  of  America  until  we  shall  be  regularly 

exchanged." 

"  t/.  5.  S.  '  Kear surge,'' 
"Port  of  Cherbourg,  France, 

"  fune  ig,  1S64. 
*'  We,  the  wounded  prisoners  of  war,  late  seamen  and  others 
on  board  the  Alabama^  captured  in  the  action  off  Cherbourg 


Sojourn  of  the  Victor  at  Cherbourg    235 

by  the  U.  S.  S.  Kearsarge  on  the  19th  of  June,  1864,  do 
solemnly  affirm  upon  our  sacred  word  of  honor  that  we  will 
not  bear  arms  against  or  otherwise  operate  against  the  interest 
of  the  Government  of  the  United  States  in  any  manner  what- 
soever until  we  shall  have  been  regularly  exchanged." 

The  officers  of  the  Alabama,  as  stated  by  Wins- 
low,  remained  prisoners  of  war.  One  of  these, 
however,  was  subsequently  paroled  under  the  fol- 
lowing circumstances  : 

,,  n,  „  "London,  July  i^,  1864. 

My  dear  Sir:  .  ./    ^   j.       ^ 

"  Mr.  Wilson,  one  of  the  persons  taken  at  the  time  of  the 

action  with  the  Alabama,  and  now  a  prisoner  on  parole  in  your 

ship,  has  called  to  see  me  to  ask  a  word  from  me  to  you  in 

favor  of  giving  him  his  liberty  on  parole. 

"  I  decline  to  assume  any  authority  with  you  in  regard  to 

the  disposition  you  think  proper  to  make  of  your  prisoners. 

At  the  same  time,  I  have  reasons  to  suppose  that  this  young 

gentleman  has  acted  honorably  in  this  business  by  recognizing 

his  obligations,  and  therefore  I  should  regret  that  he  should 

experience  no  more  liberal  treatment  in  return  than  one  who 

disregarded  them  would  deserve. 

"  Under  these  circumstances,  if  in  your  judgment  this  case, 

for  any  reason  of  the  health  of  the  person  or  any  other  good 

cause,  is  one  in  which  you  can  make  an  exception,  having  a 

reliance  on  the  honor  of  the  individual,  that  he  will  take  no 

improper  advantage  of  it,  I  will  very  cheerfully  concur  in  your 

opinion  and  approve  of  your  act. 

' '  I  am,  very  truly,  yours, 

"  C.  F.  Adams. 

' '  Envoy  Ext7-aordtnary  and  Minister  Plenipotentiary, 

"  Captain  Jno.  A.  Winslow, 

"  Commanding  U.  S.  S.  '  Kearsarge^* 

"  Cherbourg,  France." 

Endorsement. 

"  Notify  General  Butler  of  this. 

"Welles." 


236  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

"'  U.  S.  S.  '  Kearsarge* 
"  Off  Dover,  July  14,  1864. 
"  The  conduct  of  Joseph  D.  Wilson,  late  lieutenant  on 
board  the  Alabama,  has  been  so  honorable,  first,  in  presenting 
himself  on  board  the  Kearsarge  and  surrendering  himself  when 
it  was  in  his  power  to  have  gone  on  board  the  Deerhoimd  and 
gained  his  liberty  in  the  dishonorable  manner  which  others 
had  taken,  and  again,  in  his  repudiation  of  the  means  pursued 
by  those  who  obtained  their  liberty  in  this  way,  and  his  de- 
portment while  a  prisoner  having  been  of  the  same  honorable 
standard,  at  the  instance  of  Mr.  Adams,  minister  of  the  United 
States  at  the  court  of  St.  James,  I  have  paroled  the  said  Wil- 
son; and  feeling  a  full  confidence  and  trust  in  his  word  and 
honor,  I  recommend  that  all  privileges  which  can  be  given  a 
prisoner  of  war  should  be  extended  to  him,  believing  fully  he 
will  never  violate  any  obligation  which  he  pledges  himself  to 

fulfil. 

"  Jno.  a.  Winslow,  Captain. 

"  Lieutenant  J.  D.  Wilson,  C.  S.  Navy." 

The  Navy  Department  expressed  its  disapproba- 
tion of  the  parole  of  prisoners  as  soon  as  it  learned 
of  such  action  : 

"  Navy  Department, 

"  July  T2,  1864. 
"Sir: 

•'  Your  dispatch  of  the  21st  ultimo  is  received,  stating  your 
efforts  to  save  the  lives  of  the  survivors  of  the  Alabama  after 
the  battle  of  the  19th  of  June,  and  after  the  formal  surrender 
and  destruction  of  that  vessel.  Your  efforts  in  the  cause  of 
humanity  in  striving  to  rescue  these  men,  most  of  them  aliens, 
who  have,  under  their  ignoble  leader,  himself  a  deserter  from 
our  service  and  a  traitor  to  our  flag,  been  for  nearly  two  years 
making  piratical  war  on  unarmed  merchantmen,  are  rightly 
appreciated.  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  the  confidence  and 
generous  sympathy  which  you  exercised,  and  which  would 
actuate  all  honorable  minds  under  similar  circumstances, 
should  have  been  so  requited  and  abused  by  the  persons  on 


Sojourn  of  the  Victor  at  Cherbourg    237 

board  the  Deer/iound,  an  English  vessel  of  the  Royal  Yacht 
Squadron.  That  the  wretched  commander  of  the  sunken 
corsair  should  have  resorted  to  any  dishonorable  means  to 
escape  after  his  surrender;  that  he  should  have  thrown  over- 
board the  sword  that  was  no  longer  his  ;  that  before  en- 
countering an  armed  antagonist  the  mercenary  rover  should 
have  removed  the  chronometers  and  other  plunder  stolen  from 
peaceful  commerce,  are  not  matters  of  surprise,  for  each  act 
has  been  characteristic  of  one  who  has  been  false  to  his 
country  and  flag.  You  could  not  have  expected,  however, 
that  gentlemen,  or  those  claiming  to  be  gentlemen,  would  on 
such  an  occasion  act  in  bad  faith,  and  that  having  been  called 
upon  or  permitted  to  assist  in  rescuing  persons  or  property 
which  had  been  surrendered  to  you,  would  run  away  with 
either.  It  is  now  evident  that  your  confidence  in  the  Deer- 
hound  and  the  persons  connected  with  her  was  misplaced. 
The  Department  commends  your  efforts  to  save  the  lives  of 
drowning  men,  although  they  had  been  engaged  in  robbing 
and  destroying  the  property  of  those  who  had  never  injured 
them. 

"  In  paroling  the  prisoners,  however,  you  committed  a 
grave  error.  The  Alabama  was  an  English-built  vessel,  armed 
and  manned  by  Englishmen;  has  never  visited  any  port  of 
North  America,  and  her  career  of  devastation  since  she  went 
forth  from  England  is  one  that  does  not  entitle  those  of  her 
crew  who  were  captured  to  be  paroled.  This  Department 
expressly  disavows  that  act.  Extreme  caution  must  be  exer- 
cised that  we  in  no  way  change  the  character  of  this  English- 
built  and  English-manned,  if  not  English-owned,  vessel,  or 
relieve  those  who  may  be  implicated  in  sending  forth  this  rob- 
ber upon  the  seas  from  any  responsibility  to  which  they  may 
be  liable  for  the  outrages  she  has  committed. 
"  Very  respectfully,  etc., 

"  Gideon  Welles, 

"Secretary  of  the  Navy. 
"  Captain  Jno.  A.  Winslow,  U.  S.  Navy, 
"  Commanding  U.  S.  S.  '  Kearsarge,* 
"  Cherbourg,  France." 


238  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

Winslow's  explanation  seems  to  have  closed  the 
subject  : 

^^  17.  S.  S.  *  Kearsarge, 

"  English  Channel, 
"  yuly  joth,  1864. 
"  Sir: 

"  The  latter  part  of  the  despatch  of  the  Department  of  the 
8th  inst.  refers  to  the  parole  of  the  prisoners  in  these  words: 
'  It  is  reported  you  have  paroled  the  foreign  pirates  captured 
on  board  the  Alabat/ia.  I  trust  you  have  not  committed  this 
error  of  judgment.  They  should  be  held  at  every  sacrifice 
and  either  sent  home  in  the  St.  Louts  or  brought  here  by 
yourself.' 

"  I  beg  the  Department  will  consider  the  circumstances  in 
which  this  vessel  was  placed  at  the  termination  of  the  action 
with  the  Alabama.  The  berth  deck,  contracted  as  it  is,  with 
insufficient  stowage  for  our  own  men,  was  covered  with  bed- 
ding of  the  wounded,  the  quarter  deck  was  similarly  crowded, 
and  the  forward  part  of  the  ship  on  the  spar  deck  was  filled 
with  prisoners  under  guard.  The  ship  was  damaged  both  in 
rigging  and  hull.  A  shot  had  entered  the  stern  post  raising 
the  transom  frame,  and  binding  the  rudder  so  hard  as  to 
require  four  men  at  the  helm.  It  was,  therefore,  important 
that  an  examination  should  be  made  of  the  damages  sustained. 
On  our  arrival  at  Cherbourg  I  received  information  from  our 
Consul  at  London  that  the  Florida  was  in  the  Channel  on  the 
French  coast,  and  at  the  same  time  information  came  that  the 
Yeddo  was  out  and  the  Rappahannock  was  expected  to  follow, 
and  in  addition  to  this  that  the  St.  Louis  had  sailed  for 
Madeira. 

"  The  Kcarsarge  had  been  acting  alone  and  independently 
for  the  last  nine  months,  and  I  was  not  aware  that  any  of  our 
cruisers  had  been  ordered  in  the  Channel. 

"  It  became  therefore  in  my  mind  of  the  utmost  importance 
that  the  Kearsarge  should  at  once  be  put  in  a  state  to  meet 
these  vessels  and  protect  our  commerce.  This  could  not  be 
done  with  prisoners  on  board  equalling  the  half  of  our  crew, 
and  the  room  occupied  by  the  wounded  taken  to  the  exclu- 


Sojourn  of  the  Victor  at  Cherbourg    239 

sion  of  our  own  men ;  to  have  kept  them  would  have  required 
a  quarter  watch  as  guards  and  the  ship  would  have  been 
wholly  ineffective  as  a  man-of-war  to  meet  the  emergency 
which  threatened.  Under  these  circumstances,  and  without 
an  American  vessel  in  port  by  which  any  arrangement  could 
be  made  for  transshipping  the  prisoners  outside,  I  felt  it  my 
duty  to  parole  them. 

"  A  report  appears  in  the  papers  that  the  prisoners  were 
paroled    contrary    to    Mr.    Dayton's    instructions.       This    is 
erroneous.     Communication  was  had  with  Mr.  Dayton  on  the 
subject  of  the  officers  and  after  these  men  were  paroled. 
"  I  have  the  honor  to  be 
"  Very  respectfully 

"  Your  obedient  servant, 

"  Jno.  a.  Winslow,  Captain. 
'*  Hon.  Gideon  Welles, 

' '  Secretary  of  the  JVavy, 

"Washington,  D.  C." 

Of  the  three  Confederate  officers  remaining  in 
Winslow's  custody,  one,  3d  Assistant  Engineer  J. 
W.  Pundt,  was  permitted  to  go  on  shore  at  Dover 
for  the  benefit  of  his  heahh,  under  a  pledge  to  re- 
turn, which  he  failed  to  do,  and  the  others,  Chief 
Engineer  M.  J.  Freeman  and  Boatswain  B.  P. 
Mecaskey,  were  brought  to  the  United  States  in 
the  Kearsarge  and  turned  over  to  the  United  States 
Marshal  as  prisoners  of  war. 

One  of  the  French  pilot-boats  engaged  in  rescue 
landed  those  recovered  at  Cherbourg.  Lieutenant 
Armstrong,  C.S.N. ,  thus  describes  the  incident: 

Cherbourg,  June  21,  1864. 
*'Sir: 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  report  for  your  information  the  cir- 
cumstances attending  my  rescue  from  drowning  by  a  French 


240  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

pilot  boat  after  the  Alabama  went  down.  I  was  wounded  in 
the  side  by  a  part  of  a  shell  early  in  the  action,  and  suffered 
so  much  pain  in  the  water  that  had  it  not  been  for  the  exer- 
tions of  the  Alabama" s  crew  I  would  certainly  have  gone  down. 
One  of  the  Kearsarge' s  boats  was  very  near  me,  but  laid  on  its 
oars  and  made  no  exertion  whatever  that  I  could  see  to  save 
me,  the  ofificer  apparently  looking  for  some  particular  person. 
I  made  great  exertions  to  reach  the  French  boat,  and  was 
finally  pulled  into  her  so  benumbed  by  cold  and  suffering  so 
much  from  my  bruised  side  that  I  could  not  stand,  and  for  two 
hours  was  as  helpless  as  a  child.  I  had  on,  while  near  the 
Kearsarge  s  boat,  my  uniform  cap,  which  the  Federal  officer 
could  certainly  have  seen. 

"  The  officers  who  were  saved  with  me  were  Second  Assist- 
ant Engineer  William  P.  Brooks  and  Acting  Sailmaker  Henry 
Alcott.  What  time  they  got  on  board  of  the  boat  I  cannot 
say.  I  found  when  my  faculties  returned  the  following  men 
on  board  with  me: 

"  Charles  Godwin,  captain  afterguard;  James  Welsh, 
captain  top;  George  Edgerton,  ordinary  seaman;  Thomas 
Murphy,  fireman;  William  Robinson,  seaman,  and  Morris 
Britt,  boy. 

"  As  I  got  on  board  of  the  pilot  boat  I  saw  Michael  Mars 
(seaman)  plunge  from  the  Kearsarge  s  boat  and  swim  to  the 
boat  which  I  was  in.  The  Federal  officer  said  nothing,  at- 
tempted nothing,  appearing  perfectly  stupefied  by  the  bold 
action  of  this  brave  man, 

"  I  am,  sir, 

"  Very  respectfully, 

"  Your  obedient  servant, 

"  R.  F.  Armstrong, 
"  Second  Lieutenant,  C.  S.  Navy. 
"  Flag-Officer  Saml.  Barron,  C.  S.  Navy, 
"  Paris." 

Winslow  did  not  overlook  these  refugees,  and  ad- 
dressed Confederate  Agent  Bonfils,  of  Cherbourg, 
on  the  subject  as  follows  : 


Sojourn  of  the  Victor  at  Cherbourg    241 

^''  U.  S.  S.  '' K earsarge, 

"Cherbourg,  France, 

' '  June  22nd,  1864. 
"  To  Mr.  Bonfils, 
"  Sir: 

"  Certain  pilot  boats,  which  I  permitted  for  the  sake  of 
humanity,  rescued  several  prisoners  after  the  Alabama  was 
sunk  and  have  brought  them  to  Cherbourg.  These  officers 
and  men  are  not  relieved  from  obligation  which  the  law  of  war 
imposes.  They  are  my  prisoners  and  I  demand  that  they 
repair  on  board  the  Kearsarge  and  give  themselves  up. 

"  Should  they  seek  exemption  from  this  obligation  by  the 
means  employed,  hereafter,  in  similar  cases  they  will  be  en- 
titled to  no  clemency. 

"  I  therefore  request  you  will  make  known  to  such,  the 
demand  that  I  make. 

"  Very  respectfully 

"  Your  obedient  servant, 

**  Jno.  a,  Winslow,  Captain.'^ 

The  emergency  that  warranted  him  in  diverting 
the  St.  Louis  from  her  station  having  passed,  Wins- 
low  telegraphed  Commander  Preble  immediately 
after  the  battle,  annulling  the  previous  telegram,  so 
she  did  not  join  the  Keai^sarge. 

The  wounded  of  the  two  vessels  were  transferred 
to  the  Naval  Hospital  at  Cherbourg.  A  pen  pic- 
ture of  them  is  given  by  Mr.  F.  M.  Edge,  an  Eng- 
lishman who  visited  the  hospital  : 

I  paid  a  visit  to  that  establishment  on  the  Sun- 
day following  the  engagement,  and  found  the  sufferers  lying 
in  comfortable  beds  alongside  each  other  in  a  long  and  admir- 
ably ventilated  ward  on  the  first  floor.  Poor  Gowen,  who 
died  the  following  Tuesday,  was  in  great  pain,  and  already 
had  the  seal  of  death  upon  his  face.  James  McBeath,  a 
young  fellow  of  apparently  twenty  years,   with  a  compound 

fracture   of   the  leg,    chatted   with    much   animation;    while 
16 


242  John  Ancrum  Winslovv. 

Dempsey,  the  stump  of  his  right  arm  laid  on  the  pillow,  was 
comfortably  smoking  a  cigar,  and  laughing  and  talking  with 
one  of  the  Alabama  crew,  in  the  bed  alongside  him.  The 
wounded  men  of  the  sunken  piivateer  were  unmistakably 
English  in  physiognomy,  and  I  failed  to  discover  any  who 
were  not  countrymen  of  ours.  I  conversed  with  all  of  them, 
stating  at  the  outset  that  I  was  an  Englishman  like  themselves, 
and  the  information  seemed  to  open  their  hearts  to  me.  They 
represented  themselves  as  very  comfortable  at  the  hospital,  that 
everything  they  asked  for  was  given  to  them,  and  that  they 
were  surprised  at  the  kindness  of  the  Kearsarge  men  who  came 
to  visit  the  establishment,  when  they  were  assured  by  their 
own  officers  before  the  action  that  foul  treatment  would  only 
be  shown  them  in  the  event  of  their  capture.  Condoling  with 
one  poor  fellow  who  had  his  leg  carried  away  by  a  shell,  he 
remarked  to  me,  '  Ah,  it  serves  me  right.  They  won't  catch 
me  fighting  again  without  knowing  what  I  'm  fighting  for.' 
'  That  's  me  too,'  said  another  poor  Englishman  alongside  of 
him. 

"  The  paroled  prisoners  (four  officers)  on  shore  at  Cher- 
bourg, evinced  no  hostility  whatever  to  their  captors,  but  were 
always  on  the  friendliest  of  terms  with  them.  All  alike  fre- 
quented the  same  hotel  in  the  town  (curiously  enough — '  The 
Eagle,')  played  billiards  at  the  same  caf^,  and  bought  their 
pipes,  cigars,  and  tobacco  from  the  same  pretty  little  brunette 
on  the  Quai  du  Port. 


The  most  graphic  description  of  these  days  spent 
Cherbourg  is  given  in  a  letter  i 
Commander  Thornton  to  a  friend 


in  Cherbourg  is  oriven  in  a  letter  from  Lieutenant- 


"  '  Kearsarge,^ 
"  Cherbourg,  June  2j,  1S64. 
"...  Now  that  I  have  restored  the  noble  old  Kear- 
sarge to  her  former  beauty  and  efficiency,  and  answered  my 
numerous  congratulatory  letters  {s/iort  answers,  you  may  de- 
pend upon  it),  and  am  quietly  seated  in  my  room,  I  can 
escape  disturbance  and  have  a  pleasant  chat  with  you. 

*'  We  have  had  a  great  victory,  and  the  whole  of  Europe  is 


Sojourn  of  the  Victor  at  Cherbourg    243 

ringing  with  it.  Congratulatory  letters  are  pouring  in  upon 
us  from  all  quarters,  and  bouquets  of  flowers,  with  offers  of 
boxes  at  the  opera,  and  thousands  of  attentions  besides.  In 
the  midst  of  it  all  I  have  been  incessantly,  and  even  furiously, 
occupied  in  getting  the  ship  fully  re-established  in  its  former 
good  order  and  condition. 

"  You  will  learn  all  about  the  fight  and  the  destruction  of 
the  Alabama  in  the  papers.  I  believe  I  am  awarded  all  the 
credit  I  could  wish  for  the  part  I  bore  in  the  battle;  but 
military  pride  and  promotion  have  ceased  in  a  great  measure 
to  be  a  motive  with  me.  /  have  endeavored  to  do  my  duty  to  the 
couiitry  and  the  service,  both  in  battle  and  in  the  long,  laborious 
and  careful  preparation  for  it.  I  have  succeeded,  and  I  am 
satisfied.  I  felt  no  excitement  in  the  fight,  but  I  watched  its 
progress  with  professional  interest,  and  I  felt  perfectly  satis- 
fied with  the  result.     That  is  all. 

"  Very  different  were  my  feelings  in  former  battles  on  the 
Mississippi  and  the  Gulf.  Then  I  felt  all  the  excitement  and 
all  the  enthusiasm  of  the  scene,  the  desire  to  do  and  dare,  in 
contempt  of  danger  and  death.  Perhaps  if  we  had  been  obliged 
to  '  board  '  the  Alabama  the  rush  of  conflict  would  have  re- 
vived the  old  feelings,  but  I  doubt  it.  However,  I  must  not 
mourn  if  I  have  been  enabled  to  do  my  duty  creditably.  My 
old  and  honored  commander,  Admiral  Rowan,  will  be  pleased, 
and  that  is  one  gratification  to  me,  and  perhaps  many  another 
friend  will  be  also. 

"  By  the  by,  we  have  news  that  the  Alabama,  (my  head  is  so 
full  of  that  nasty  ship)  rather  the  Niagara,  departed  for 
these  waters  on  the  2d  of  this  month,  and  we  are  expecting 
her  daily.  Now  that  the  Alabama  has  been  destroyed,  the 
Georgia  run  into  port  and  sold,  the  Rappahannock  permanently 
seized  by  the  French  Government,  and  only  the  Florida  left 
of  all  the  rebel  navy,  perhaps  the  Kearsarge  may  be  relieved 
by  the  Niagara  and  be  allowed  to  return  home.  I  can  really 
see  no  further  necessity  for  her  presence  in  the  Channel  now, 
although  the  '  secesh  '  avow,  with  many  strange  oaths,  that 
they  will  fit  out  another  Alabama  in  six  weeks  and  sink  the 
Kearsarge.     But  I  rather  think  they  have  got  enough  for  the 


244  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

present.  I  long  to  see  the  old  Niagara  stick  her  long  nose 
toward  the  '  breakwater  ' ;  but  I  suppose  we  must  wear  out 
many  a  weary  cruise  before  she  really  does  come.  But  I  do 
not  think  we  shall  see  any  more  fighting,  unless  we  can  pick 
up  the  Florida.  I  have  a  sort  of  grudge  against  my  old  foe, 
but  am  willing  that  she  should  be  taken  by  any  other  fortunate 
ship. 

"  None  of  my  messmates  had  ever  been  in  action  before. 
Judging  from  the  papers,  there  is  tremendous  excitement  both 
in  England  and  France.  The  shipping  in  Liverpool  and 
Havre  is  decorated,  extra  papers  are  issued,  crowds  collect  at 
the  corners  of  the  streets,  and  the  Kearsarge  and  Alabama  are 
in  every  mouth.  Our  ship  is  full  of  excited  and  gaping 
strangers,  and  altogether  there  is  such  noise  and  confusion 
that  I  have  despaired  of  keeping  the  ship  quiet.  If  they 
would  only  make  one  day  of  it,  I  could  stand  it  very  well, 
but  days  have  elapsed  and  the  crowd  is  greater  than  ever. 
'  There  never  was  such  a  ship  as  the  Kearsarge,  and  there 
never  was  such  an  action  before.'  Such  is  the  common  talk, 
and  I  am  sick  and  tired  of  it. 

"  The  shores  of  the  old  Channel  have  rung  with  the  sound 
of  naval  artillery  for  centuries;  and  yet  an  hour's  sharp  fight- 
ing sets  the  French  to  jabbering,  and  John  Bull  to  using  worse 
language.  The  Alabama  happened  to  have  a  battery  of  Etig- 
lish  manufacture,  while  our  own  was  purely  America?!-.  In 
calibre  and  mathematical  force  they  were  about  equals,  but 
the  disproportion  of  effect  was  wonderful.  The  English  will 
not  ascribe  it  to  superior  training  and  discipline  on  our  side, 
which  is  the  true  cause,  but  persist  in  trying  to  find  fault  with 
the  fairness  of  the  battle,  when  nothing  could  be  fairer.  The 
two  ships  were  alike  in  size,  the  Alabat?ia  mounting  one  gun 
in  the  broadside  more  than  the  Kearsarge,  while  the  Kearsarge 
had  two  1 1 -inch  pivot  guns,  when  the  Alabama  had  one  8-inch 
and  one  120-pounder  Blakely  rifled  gun.  There  was  a  differ- 
ence of  only  60  pounds  in  the  weight  of  iron  thrown  at  a  single 
broadside.  They  were  as  nearly  equal  as  ever  two  ships  were. 
Profiting  by  former  experience,  we  had  "  bighted  "  our  sheet 
cables  over  the  side  for  the  better  protection  of  our  boilers. 


Sojourn  of  the  Victor  at  Cherbourg    245 

This  had  been  done  a  year  and  a  half  before  the  action. 
Semmes  was  aware  of  this,  but  underrated  its  importance,  and 
neglected  to  provide  his  ship  with  a  similar  defense.  The 
chain  was  struck  twice  by  the  heaviest  projectiles,  and  un- 
questionably saved  us  from  damage.  But  the  Alabama's  men 
fired  hurriedly,  and  almost  always  above  our  ship,  while  our 
men,  trained  to  coolness  and  deliberation,  fired  slowly  and  into 
the  Alabama. 

"  Friday  Evenitig.  All  day  long  we  have  been  receiving 
and  discharging  French  ofiticers,  from  the  Admirals  down  to 
the  lowest  '  sub.'  It  is  tiresome  work,  and  I  had  rather  fight 
twenty  Alabamas. 

"  Saturday  Morning.  Our  repairs  are  nearly  completed, 
and  we  shall  leave  here  early  next  week  for  England.  The 
Niagara  has  just  gone  into  Antwerp,  as  we  are  informed  by 
telegraph." 

Temporary  repairs  on  the  Kearsarge  were  com- 
pleted by  July  5th,  and  Winslow  was  notified  to 
leave  port  within  twenty-four  hours  : 

"6/.  S.  S.  '  Kearsarge,^ 
"Cherbourg,  France, 

"  Sir: 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  report  that,  the  temporary  repairs  of 
this  ship  have  been  completed,  by  knotting  the  main  and 
reeving  new  running  rigging,  and  patching  over  the  shot 
holes  in  the  bulwarks  and  sides,  and  repairing  the  old  sails. 

*'  I  would  beg  leave  to  state  that,  owing  to  there  being  but 
one  suit  of  sails  furnished  this  vessel,  so  much  of  them  as 
remain  are  in  a  very  poor  state. 

"  Of  the  main  rigging  that  which  is  left  unknotted,  the  core 
only  remained  unaffected  by  injury  from  smoke  from  the  fur- 
naces. It  is  therefore  necessary  to  support  the  masts  by 
pennant  tackles  in  rough  weather. 

"  I  have  already  informed  the  Department  that  we  received 
a  bad  shot  in  our  stern  post  from  one  hundred  pound  rifle. 


246  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

This  has  cut  away  more  than  half  the  wood,  and  by  its  action 
of  wedging  has  made  the  rudder  more  difficult  to  turn.  On 
examination  it  was  found  that  if  the  shot  was  cut  out,  so  little 
of  the  wood  would  remain  that  the  slightest  sea  would,  no 
doubt,  carry  away  rudder  and  stern  post,  it  was  therefore 
advisable  to  let  it  rest  for  the  present  during  summer  months. 
"  Under  these  circumstances  1  feel  it  my  duty  to  state  that 
it  would  be  hazardous  to  continue  the  cruise  of  this  ship  in 
anything  like  the  heavy  weather  we  experienced  during  the 
last  wmter.  The  ship  can  be  repaired  in  Flushing  or  some 
other  port  in  Europe,  but  the  repairs  must  be  extensive.  I 
also  feel  it  my  duty  to  state  that,  if  the  Department  have  in 
view  ordering  this  ship  to  the  United  States  the  order  should 
be  issued  in  time  for  us  to  cross  the  Atlantic  before  the 
equinox  sets  in,  for  should  it  be  delayed  after  this  I  hold  the 
necessity  imperative  that  we  should  enter  dock  and  repair  our 
stern  post. 

"  1  have  the  honor  to  be 
"  Very  respectfully 

"  Your  obedient  servant, 

"  Jno.  a.  Winslow,  Captain. 
"  Hon.  Gideon  Welles, 

"  Secretary  of  the  Navy.^' 

"  f/.  S.  S.  "  Kearsarge,' 
"Cherbourg,  France, 
"  Juiy  5th,  1864. 
"Sir: 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  inform  the  Department  that  the  re- 
ports that  the  Florida  is  lurking  somewhere  on  the  coast  of 
France  have  decided  me  to  return  up  the  Channel.  I  shall 
proceed  today  towards  Dover  and  touch  off  some  of  the  in- 
termediate places  for  communication  with  our  Consuls  and 
verification  of  the  reports. 

"  The  Yeddo  which  sailed  from  Bordeaux  is  reported  to 
have  passed  into  the  Prussian  hands,  and  has  entered  the 
'  Weser. ' 

"  I  have  received  notice  from  Lisbon  that  the  Sacramento 
will  sail  for  Cherbourg. 


Sojourn  of  the  Victor  at  Cherbourg    247 

"  The  twenty-four  hour  law  prevents  my  remaining  to  com- 
municate with  her, 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  be 
"  Very  respectfully 

"  Your  obedient  servant, 

"  J  NO.  A.  WiNSLOW,  Captain. 
"  Hon.  Gideon  Welles, 

' '  Secretary  o/  the  Navy. ' ' 

Having  destroyed  the  greatest  of  Confederate 
cruisers,  Winslow  was  concentrating  his  attention 
upon  the  next  in  importance,  the  Florida,  and 
planning  for  the  co-operation  ot  other  vessels, 
which  had  been  tardily  sent  out  by  the  United 
States  Government : 

*'  U.  S.  S,  '  Kearsarge," 
"Cherbourg,  France, 
"  y^iiy  S^fi,  1864. 
"Sir: 

"  I  will  be  obliged  to  you  to  communicate  with  me  as  to 
your  movements.  I  am  now  going  up  the  Channel  and  our 
depot  for  letters  is  Dover.  I  will  endeavor  to  obtain  from 
Craven  some  information  as  to  his  movements  also,  in  the 
Niagara.  A  cooperation  may  be  necessary,  should  the  re- 
ports of  the  Florida  being  in  the  Channel  be  verified. 
"  Hoping  to  see  you  before  long 

"  I  remain,  very  respectfully 

"  Your  obedient  servant, 

"  Jno.  a.  Winslow,  Captain. 
**  Captain  Henry  Walke, 

"  Comdg.  U.  S.  S.  ^ Sacramento.^  " 

The  Sacramento  arrived  in  Cherbourg  the  next 
day,  a  few  hours  before  the  Kearsarge  sailed. 

The  relief  and  joy  of  all  loyal  Americans  on  the 
Continent  and  in  England,  upon  learning  of  the 


248  John  Ancrum  Winslow 

destruction  of  the  Alabama,  was  beyond  description. 
Letters  and  telegrams  of  congratulation  and  un- 
bounded praise  showered  upon  Winslow  from  offi- 
cials and  civilians  alike.  Quotations  from  them 
here  would  only  be  tedious.  Minister  Adams  was 
prompt  to  acknowledge  the  brilliance  of  the  victory. 
The  official  news  of  the  action  reached  Washing- 
ton on  the  6th  of  July  and  the  congratulations  of 
the  United  States  Government  were  immediately 
despatched  : 

"  Navy  Department, 

'' July  6,  1864. 
"Sir: 

"  Your  very  brief  dispatches  of  the  19th  and  20th  ultimo, 
inforuiing  the  Department  that  the  piratical  craft  Alabama,  or 
2go,  had  been  sunk  on  the  19th  June,  near  meridian,  by  the 
Kearsarge,  under  your  command,  were  this  day  received.  I 
congratulate  you  on  your  good  fortune  in  meeting  the  Ala- 
bama, which  has  so  long  avoided  the  fastest  ships  and  some  of 
the  most  vigilant  and  intelligent  officers  of  the  service,  and  for 
the  ability  displayed  in  the  contest  you  have  the  thanks  of  the 
Department. 

"  You  will  please  express  to  the  officers  and  crew  of  the 
Kearsarge  the  satisfaction  of  the  Government  at  this  victory 
over  a  vessel  superior  in  tonnage,  superior  in  number  of  guns, 
and  superior  in  the  number  of  her  crew.  The  battle  was  so 
brief,  the  victory  so  decisive,  and  the  comparative  results  so 
striking  that  the  country  will  be  reminded  of  the  brilliant 
actions  of  our  infant  Navy,  which  have  been  repeated  and 
illustrated  in  this  engagement. 

"  The  Alabama  represented  the  best  maritime  effort  of  the 
most  skilled  English  workshops.  Her  battery  was  composed 
of  the  well-tried  32-pounders  of  57  hundredweight,  of  the  68- 
pounder  of  the  British  navy,  and  of  the  only  successful  rifled 
loo-pounder  yet  produced  in  England.  The  crew  were  gen- 
erally recruited  in  Great  Britain,  and  many  of  them  received 


Sojourn  of  the  Victor  at  Cherbourg    249 

superior  training  on  board   her  Majesty's   gunnery  ship  the 
Excellent. 

"  The  Kearsarge  is  one  of  the  first  gunboats  built  at  our 
navy  yards  at  the  commencement  of  the  rebellion,  and  lacks 
the  improvements  of  vessels  now  under  construction.  The 
principal  guns  composing  her  battery  had  never  been  pre- 
viously tried  in  an  exclusively  naval  engagement,  yet  in  one 
hour  you  succeeded  in  sinking  your  antagonist,  thus  fitly 
ending  her  predatory  career,  and  killed  many  of  her  crew, 
without  injury  to  the  Kearsarge  or  the  loss  of  a  single  life  on 
your  vessel. 

"  Our  countrymen  have  reason  to  be  satisfied  that  in  this, 
as  in  every  naval  action  of  this  unhappy  war,  neither  the 
ships,  the  guns,  nor  the  crews  have  deteriorated,  but  that  they 
maintain  the  ability  and  continue  the  renown  which  have  ever 
adorned  our  naval  annals. 

"  The  President  has  signified  his  intention  to  recommend 
that  you  receive  a  vote  of  thanks,  in  order  that  you  may  be  ad- 
vanced to  the  grade  of  commodore.  Lieutenant-Commander 
James  S.  Thornton,  the  executive  officer  of  the  Kearsarge^ 
will  be  recommended  to  the  Senate  for  advancement  ten  num- 
bers in  his  grade,  and  you  will  report  to  the  Department  the 
names  of  any  others  of  the  officers  or  crew  whose  good  con- 
duct on  the  occasion  entitles  them  to  especial  mention. 
"  Very  respectfully,  etc., 

"  Gideon  Welles, 
' '  Secretary  of  the  Navy. 
"  Captain  John  A.  Winslow, 

' '  Comma?iding  U.  S.  S.  '  Kearsarge., ' 
"Cherbourg,  France," 


CHAPTER  XXII. 


w 


THE    CLOSE    OF    THE    CRUISE. 

HEN    he    got   to   sea,    Winslow    found   a 
breathing  space  in  which   to  write  home 
at  some  length. 

"  Off  Hastings, 

"  .  .  .  I  have  written  a  letter  to  the  Department, 
which  must  carry  the  Kearsarge  home,  for  we  have  such  shot 
in  our  stern  post  and  otherwise,  as  will  make  it  dangerous  to 
keep  at  sea  in  gales  of  wind.  Well,  I  suppose  you  have  read 
enough  about  our  fight,  what  a  terrible  sensation  it  had  made 
in  Europe,  and  as  for  poor  me,  I  have  been  inundated  with 
letters,  etc.  I  took  the  only  opportunity  I  had,  and  went  to 
Paris  to  see  about  my  eye.  There  I  became  a  lion — dinners, 
speeches,  writing,  painting,  permission  to  dedicate  to  me — 
Had  to  have  a  reception  from  11  a.m.  to  3  p.m.  one  day, 
general  handshaking,  etc. ;  parties  and  nonsense  afterwards. 
I  wished  I  was  in  the  Kearsarge,  where  I  got  as  soon  as  I 
could,  I  can't  write  a  word,  but  someone  gets  hold  of  it, 
garbles  and  publishes  it. 

"  Well,  of  my  eye. — Oculist  says  '  Irrevocably  gone! — might 
have  saved  it  had  I  had  an  operation  performed  when  first  at- 
tacked— must  be  careful  of  the  other.' 

"  Everyone  very  kind  to  me  in  Paris.  Strange  things  have 
come  to  pass — I  am,  they  say,  a  hero.  It  would  have  been 
gratifying  to  me  when  I  was  young;  but  now  my  hope  is  peace 
and  rest.     God  grant  it  may  arrive  at  an  early  day! 

250 


The  Close  of  the  Cruise.  251 

"  You  can  form  no  idea  of  the  immense  correspondence 
that  fight  has  involved  me  in.  Everybody  wants  replies,  and 
I  am  the  sufferer. 

"  But  the  prospect  is,  we  are  coming  home.  The  Sacra- 
mento arrived  a  few  hours  before  we  left  Cherbourg — so  I 
was  detained  till  12  last  night,  seeing  Walke  and  arranging  a 
co-operation. 

"  I  told  him  to  come  up  to  Dover,  which  he  will  do  as  soon 
as  possible. 

"  The  Niagara  is  at  Flushing,  I  am  now  approaching  the 
English  coast,  and  expect  to  be  bored  by  people,  people  who 
are  never  satisfied  and  who  think  I  have  nothing  to  do  but  to 
listen  to  them.  If  the  Ticonderoga  is  our  relief  she  ought  to 
be  here;  I  have  the  Boston  Advertiser  announcing  her  sailing 
the  i8th  ult.     .     .     ." 

The  Georgia  was  known  to  have  been  sold,  and 
rumors  of  the  presence  of  the  Florida  on  the  coast 
of  Europe  proved  to  be  groundless,  but  a  letter 
from  the  U.  S.  Consul  at  London  indicated  that 
the  Confederates  were  concentratingf  their  efTorts 
upon  getting  the  Rappahannock  to  sea. 

"  U.  S.  Consulate, 

' '  London,  June  zy,  1864. 
"  Capt.  J.  A.  WiNSLow, 

"  Dear  Sir, 

"  Although  you  may  be  apprised  of  all  that  I  am  about 
to  write  I  think  it  my  duty  to  inform  you  that  the  destruction 
of  the  Alabajna  has  caused  great  mortification  and  chagrin 
among  all  rebels  and  their  sympathizers  in  Europe  and  they 
are  talking  of  nothing  but  revenge,  etc.  and  say  they  will  soon 
be  ready  to  attack  you.  I  don't  much  regard  their  boasting 
but  think  they  are,  from  all  that  has  come  to  my  knowledge, 
making  preparations  to  attack  you.  I  saw  a  letter  to-day 
written  by  a  rebel  to  a  rebel,  saying  the  Rappahafinock  would 
be  out  by  the  2nd  of  July — that  she  would  carry  two  200- 
pounder  rifles  and  eight  64.     I  suppose  as  many  guns — that 


2^2 


John  Ancrum  Winslow. 


she  would  be  protected  in  the  hull  by  wire  rope,  etc.,  and  that 
she  has  now  135  men  besides  officers  and  that  they  were  de- 
termined to  attack  your  ship.  I  know  the  writer  meant  what 
he  said.  I  hope  they  will  give  you  a  meeting.  I  have  no  fear 
of  the  result. 

"  I  do  not  wish  it  to  get  out  that  I  am  seeing  such  letters, 
for  it  would  deprive  us  of  information.  They  are  shipping 
large  numbers  of  men  for  some  purpose.  One  hundred  go  to 
Glasgow  on  Wednesday,  One  of  the  Bordeaux  steamers  left 
on  Saturday  with  65  men  on  board  and  is  in  some  Channel 
port  but  as  yet  not  known  to  me. 

"  The  Florida  arrived  in  the  Channel  on  Saturday  without 
coal  and  is  supplying  herself  somewhere:  one  report  is  that 
she  is  in  a  small  French  port. 

"  The  Niagara  is  in  the  Channel.  Perhaps  you  have  com- 
municated with  her  before  this  time. 

"  Your  ship  is  faster  than  any  they  have  and  your  gunnery 
much  superior,  and  I  hope  they  will  give  your  noble  command 
another  opportunity  for  a  meeting. 

"  Very  truly  yours, 

"  T.  H.  Morse." 

The  blockade  of  the  Rappahannock  was  there- 
fore resumed. 

''  (/.  S.  S.  '  Kearsarge,' 

"Dover,  July  28th,  1S64. 

"...  I  am  watching  \\\q  Rappahannock  and  waiting 
answer  to  my  letter  to  the  Department.  Expect  orders  home, 
or  I  shall  go  in  dock  to  repair  extensively.  I  never  have  any 
peace  now,  so  many  thousand  people  in  the  ship  daily,  and  I 

have  so  many  invitations  no  quiet  is  given  me.     Tell to 

keep  cool.  It  is  hot  weather  in  Boston  now — am  sorry  he  was 
not  in  the  Kearsarge  to  hang  all  the  prisoners,  but  it  can't  be 
helped  now. 

"  The  Kearsarge  is  now  as  popular  on  the  English  coast,  as 
she  would  be  at  home  You  need  heed  no  reports  about  any 
farther  attacks  on  her.  As  for  the  rebels,  I  think  they  would 
be  unwilling  to  take  any  unfair  advantage  ot   us;  they  are 


The  Close  of  the  Cruise.  253 

going  to  fight  us  when  they  can,  my  opinion  is  they  will  let  us 
alone,  and  keep  as  far  off  as  they  can  get.     .     .     ." 

On  the  iith  of  August,  Winslow  received  the 
following  confidential  order : 

"  (Confidential.) 

•'Navy  Department. 

"Washington,  July  2^,  1864. 
"  Sir: 

"  The  Florida  has  committed  some  depredations  on  our 
coast  and  departed  probably  for  Martinique,  whence  she  will 
no  doubt  cruise  to  the  southward  and  eastward  in  the  track 
of  our  homeward-bound  vessels  via  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope, 
as  has  been  the  case  heretofore.  On  the  receipt  of  this  order 
you  will  fill  up  with  coal,  and,  keeping  your  departure  a  secret 
from  every  person,  you  will  proceed  with  all  practicable  dis- 
patch to  the  ground  indicated  above,  touching  only  for  coal 
on  the  way.  If  nothing  is  heard  of  the  Florida  in  cruising  to 
the  southward  and  westward,  go  to  Fernando  de  Noronha,  the 
Rocas,  Martinique,  and  St.  Thomas,  thence  home. 

"  If  you  meet  with  a  sailing  vessel  suspected  of  being  a 
tender  to  these  pirates,  hoist  Marryat's  signal  No.  5  at  the 
fore.  If  replied  to  by  the  same  signal,  search  the  vessel  for 
extra  crew  and  for  any  other  objects  that  will  authorize  a 
seizure. 

"  I  trust  you  may  close  your  cruise  by  the  same  exhibition 
of  skill  which  has  already  been  so  creditable  to  you. 
"  Very  respectfully,  etc., 

"  Gideon  Welles, 

' '  Secretary  of  the  Navy. 
"  Captain  John  A.  Winslow, 

' '  Com7nanding  U.  S.  S.  '  Kearsarge, ' 

"Cherbourg,  France." 

The  Kearsarge  was  relieved  that  day  by  the 
Iroquois,  Commander  C.  R.  P.  Rodgers,  and  sailed 
at  once  for  Fayal,  touching  at  Cherbourg,  en  route^ 


254  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

for  the  wounded  who  had  been  left  there  in  the 
hospital. 

^'  U.  S.  S.  '  Kearsarge,^ 

"  Dover,  Aug.  nth,  1864. 

"  ,  .  .  I  have  my  orders  now  from  Washington  and  I 
leave  to-day  on  my  way  home,  not  to  arrive  for  a  month  or 
more.  I  am  charged  confidentially  with  duty  which  will  carry 
me  a  long  distance  before  we  can  point  our  head  for  home. 

"  The  Iroquois  has  come  to  Dover  and  hereafter  will  follow 
my  round.  Raymond  Rodgers  commands  her,  and  I  am  glad 
for  the  credit  of  the  Navy  that  so  gentlemanly  an  officer  is 
appointed  to  this  duty.     .     .     ." 

''*  U.  S.  S.  '■  Kearsarge," 

"  HoRTA  Bay,  Fayal, 
i(c^.  '^  Atigust  2jrd,  1864. 

"  In  obedience  to  instructions  of  the  Department  of  the  27th 
ult.  I  have  the  honor  to  report  that  the  Kearsarge  left  Dover 
roads  on  the  nth  inst.,  and  the  following  day  touched  off 
Cherbourg,  to  receive  the  wounded  men  left  in  the  hospital  at 
that  port.  On  our  arrival  at  Cherbourg  a  report  was  current 
that  the  Florida.,  in  company  with  the  Electric  Spark.,  had 
been  seen  off  the  Banks  of  Newfoundland.  For  verification 
of  the  report,  after  leaving  Cherbourg  I  cruized  to  the  north- 
ward to  intercept  the  steamers  from  America,  but  missing 
them,  kept  away  and  arrived  at  this  port  on  the  22nd  inst. 

"  The  papers  from  the  United  States  up  to  the  6th  inst.  and 
the  local  news  about  these  islands,  afford  no  light  upon  the 
movements  of  the  Florida.  I  shall  therefore  as  soon  as  our 
stock  of  coal  is  renewed,  proceed  in  obedience  to  the  instruc- 
tions of  the  Department,  as  indicated  by  the  despatch  of  the 
23rd  ult. 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  be 
"  Very  respectfully 

"  Your  obedient  servant 

"  John  A.  Winslow,  Captain. 
"  Hon,  Gideon  Welles, 

' '  Secretary  of  the  Navy., 
"Washington,  D.  C." 


The  Close  of  the  Cruise.  255 

At  Fayal,  Winslow  was  able  to  send  letters 
home. 

"  (7.  S.  S.  '  Kearsarge' 

"  Fayal,  Aug.  23d,  1864. 

"...  You  see  we  have  arrived  here,  and  found  all 
our  friends  in  a  high  state  of  excitement  about  the  Alabama., 
etc. 

"We  have  to  go  through  the  same  scenes  as  elsewhere,  but 
I  must  soon  be  off  on  my  course.  When  I  wrote  you  at 
Dover  I  supposed  we  might  get  home  by  the  last  of  Septem- 
ber, but  I  find  it  now  impossible  to  carry  out  the  Secretary's 
orders  in  that  time  and  we  have  a  long  cruise  before  us  first, 
so  I  may  not  reach  home  before  the  first  of  November  or 
thereabouts. 

"  The  orders  received  are  secret.  As  we  were  coming  in 
port  yesterday,  a  vessel  was  sailing  for  Boston,  which  will  re- 
port us.  The  St.  Louis  is  here,  with  Preble  commanding, — 
they  cheered  the  Kearsarge  as  she  came  in.  I  was  sorry  to 
see  that  Grant  was  not  doing  well  at  Petersburg.  It  certainly 
is  slow  work. 

"  I  have  had  so  much  writing  to  do,  it  is  wearing  me  out, 
besides  straining  my  eye.  My  clerk  has  been  sick  pretty  much 
the  whole  cruise,  and  I  have  no  one  to  supply  his  place,  or  I 
could  dictate.  We  have  nothing  but  the  stormiest  weather, 
and  the  heat  is  intolerable,  after  coming  from  the  Channel, 
where  I  had  a  fire  every  morning. 

"  How  I  long  to  get  somewhere,  where  I  shall  have  no 
writing,  no  correspondence,  no  people.  It  is  all  work  and 
no  play  and  I  am  fast  becoming  a  dull  fellow.     ,     .     .  " 

"  U.  S.  S.  ''Kearsarge^ 

"  Fayal,  Atig.  2gth,  1864. 
...  I  wrote  you,  via  Lisbon,  a  few  days  since.  A 
vessel  having  come  in,  bound  to  Boston,  I  again  wrote.  We 
have  nearly  completed  our  supplies,  and  shall  proceed  in  a 
few  days  on  our  cruise.  I  do  not  expect  to  reach  home  till 
early  in  November.  I  fear  very  much  the  cold  weather,  as 
my  eye  is  so  sensitive    and   I   have  suffered   so   much   from 


256  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

change  of  climate  after  leaving  the  Mississippi.  I  do  not  like 
the  news  from  the  United  States,  it  looks  as  if  the  war  might 
last  during  my  natural  life,  and  I  am  a  peace  man." 


The  remainder  of  the  cruise  is  told  by  Captain 
Winslow  in  his  official  report  to  the  Secretary  of 
the  Navy,  upon  his  arrival  at  Boston,  November  7, 
1864: 

"'  U.  S.  S.  '  Kearsarge,^ 
"Charlestown  (Boston)  Navy  Yard, 

"  November  7,  1864. 

"Sir: 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  report  the  arrival  of  the  Kearsarge  at 
this  place. 

"The  Kearsarge  left  Fayal  on  the  ist  of  September  and 
proceeded  to  the  southward  and  westward,  preparatory  to 
working  up  to  the  equator  in  the  track  of  vessels  bound  to  the 
United  States. 

"  On  the  15th  of  September,  having  attained  this  track  in 
latitude  18°  N.,  we  came  round  and  commenced  our  arduous 
task  of  working  up  against  the  trade  winds. 

"  Owing  to  necessity,  our  consumption  of  coal  during  the 
days  we  were  compelled  to  steam  was  reduced  to  the  smallest 
limit,  and  our  progress  was  accordingly  slow. 

"  On  the  4th  of  October  we  reached  the  island  of  St.  Paul, 
where  we  brought  up  during  the  day  taking  fish,  and  three 
days  afterwards  came  to  anchor  at  Fernando  de  Noronha. 

"  Although  it  appears  from  subsequent  information  that  the 
Florida  had  been  three  weeks  before  cruising  about  St.  Paul, 
wliere  she  remained  for  three  weeks  or  more,  yet  no  informa- 
tion of  her  could  be  obtained  at  Fernando  de  Noronha  or 
from  any  of  the  vessels  spoken,  and  the  mail  steamers  in- 
formed us  she  had  not  been  seen  on  the  coast.  We  learned 
from  after-examination  that  she  kept  to  windward  of  Fernando 
de  Noronha,  only  once  sighting  the  peak  for  verification  of 
longitude  before  proceeding  to  Bahia,  where  she  arrived  the 
day  before  we  reached  St.  Paul. 


The  Close  of  the  Cruise.  257 

"  Having  heard  from  the  French  mail  steamer  from  Per- 
nambuco  and  Bahia  that  the  Wachusett  and  Ticonderoga  were 
on  the  coast,  the  former  of  which,  the  governor  of  Fernando 
de  Norohha  informed  us,  had  been  cruising  about  the  island, 
we  left  Fernando  de  Noronha  and  made  the  Rocas  the  next 
day.     We  found  no  vessels  or  inhabitants  at  these  shoals. 

"  Having  attained  the  point  marked  out  by  the  instructions 
of  the  Department,  and  the  information  received  being  that 
the  Wachusett  and  Ticonderoga  were  watching  this  part  of  the 
seas,  we  left  the  Rocas  and  arrived  at  Barbados  on  the  23d 
ultimo,  which  port  we  put  into  with  our  coal  all  consumed. 
Having  obtained  a  supply,  we  left  Barbados  for  Martinique, 
and  touched  at  the  ports  of  St.  Pierre  and  Fort  Royal,  and 
proceeded  on  to  St.  Thomas,  where  we  arrived  on  the  29th 
ultimo. 

"  The  following  day  the  Wachusett  arrived  from  Bahia, 
with  the  Florida  in  company,  the  latter  having  been  left 
outside. 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  inform  the  Department  that  the  ship 
James  Cheston,  of  Baltimore,  133  days  from  Rangoon,  in  dis- 
tress, with  scurvy,  came  into  St.  Thomas  while  we  were  there. 
Having  in  the  Kearsarge  nineteen  men  received  from  the  U. 
S.  Consul  at  Fayal  (distressed  American  seamen),  we  were 
enabled  to  assist  her  by  putting  them  on  board  of  her.  By 
the  transfer  of  these  men,  room  having  been  made,  I  readily 
assented  to  the  request  of  Captain  Collins,  who  complained 
of  embarrassment  from  having  too  many  prisoners  in  the 
Florida,  to  take  them  in  the  Kearsarge.  We  accordingly  re- 
ceived on  board  one  of  the  doctors  of  the  Florida,  with  sixteen 
of  her  men.  We  also  received  the  paymaster  of  the  Wachusett 
as  bearer  of  despatches. 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  inform  the  Department  that  the 
Kearsarge  was  in  a  poor  state  for  the  cruise  she  has  just  com- 
pleted. All  her  sails  are  but  miserable  rags,  and  the  rigging 
little  better.  Her  stern  frame  is  badly  shattered,  and  before 
we  reached  the  line  the  whole  transom  worked  two  or  more 
inches  from  the  sternpost  and  side  timbers,  leaving  the  rudder- 
post  without  any  support  except  the  deadwood  below.     We 


258 


John  Ancrum  Winslow. 


were  only  enabled  to  stay  the  working  by  raising  the  deck 
abaft  and  temporarily  wedging  under  the  carlines. 
"  I  have  the  honor  to  be, 
"  Very  respectfully, 

"  Your  obedient  servant, 

"  Jno.  a.  Winslow,  Captain. 
*'  Hon.  Gideon  Welles, 
' '  Secretary  of  the  Navy., 

"Washington,  D.  C." 


CHAPTER   XXIII. 


THE    OVATION    AT    HOME. 


THE  Kearsarge  arrived  in  Boston  Harbor 
after  nightfall  on  the  7th  of  November,  and 
Winslow  reached  his  family  quietly  soon  after 
midnight.  The  ship's  arrival  was  on  the  eve  of 
two  interesting  events — the  Presidential  election 
and  a  Sailor's  National  Fair  in  Boston,  for  the 
benefit  of  distressed  American  sailors  and  mar- 
ines. So  great  was  the  excitement  and  enthusiasm 
over  the  advent  of  the  destroyer  of  the  Ala- 
bama that  interest  in  the  national  election  flagged 
and  the  crowds  at  the  polls  melted  away  to  re- 
assemble at  the  water-front  and  gaze  in  awe  and 
exultation  upon  the  battle-scared  victor  from  across 
the  sea. 

The  Sailors'  Fair  afforded  a  most  auspicious  op- 
portunity for  presenting  the  heroes  of  Cherbourg 
to  their  lauding  countrymen.  Winslow  and  many 
of  his  officers  and  men  attended  it  and  held  an 
enormous  impromptu  handshaking. 

A  reception  followed  the  next  day  at  Winslow's 
home  town  of  Roxbury,  where  he  was  presented 

259 


26o  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

with  a  magnificent  silver  service  by  the  citizens  of 
that  place. 

On  the  loth,  a  grand  public  reception  to  the 
Captain,  officers,  and  crew  of  the  Kearsarge  was 
held  in  Faneuil  Hall.  It  was  preceded  by  a  parade 
escorting  the  honored  guests  from  the  ship  to  the 
hall,  and  closed  with  a  collation,  at  which  there  were 
toasting,  speechmaking,  and  vociferous  acclama- 
tions of  welcome.  Mrs.  Winslow  appeared  in  the 
gallery  during  the  collation  and  was  enthusiastically 
cheered. 

On  the  15th,  a  banquet  was  given  to  Winslow 
and  his  officers  by  the  Boston  Board  of  Trade  at 
the  Revere  House,  which  was  especially  elaborate; 
Gilmore's  full  band  furnished  music,  and  covers 
were  laid  for  three  hundred  guests.  On  this  and 
all  other  occasions  of  its  kind,  Captain  Winslow 
was  called  upon  to  speak,  which,  although  naturally 
distasteful  to  him,  he  did  with  what  grace  he  could. 
A  reporter  on  one  of  these  occasions  thus  describes 
him  : 

"  Modest,  unassuming,  divested  of  all  the  insignia  to  desig- 
nate his  naval  rank,  Captain  Winslow  could  have  been  selected 
by  no  stranger  present  as  the  fortunate  antagonist  of  the  villain 
Semmes.  More  like  a  divine  than  that  of  a  fighting  man  is 
the  tout  ensemble  of  the  gallant  sailor.  He  is  of  medium 
stature,  with  full  dark  beard  and  hair,  but  with  a  bald  circle 
upon  the  top,  like  the  tonsure  of  the  priesthood.  Gentleness 
and  affability  gleam  in  every  lineament  of  his  countenance, 
yet  we  can  discern,  upon  a  closer  scrutiny,  that  the  iron  will 
and  the  defiant  courage  that  marked  the  man  when  he  ordered 
the  decks  of  the  Kearsarge  cleared  for  action  are  inherent 
qualities  of  his  nature,  born  with  him." 


The  Ovation  at  Home.  261 

On  the  28th  of  November,  the  Kearsarge  was 
put  out  of  commission.  Being  thus  released  from 
ofhcial  duties,  Winslow  was  obHged  to  spend  the 
month  of  December  visiting  cities  that  would  not 
be  denied  the  privilege  of  doing  him  honor.  On 
the  loth,  he  attended  a  reception  under  the  aus- 
pices of  the  Port  Society  of  New  York,  at  the 
Academy  of  Music  in  that  city.  On  the  13th,  the 
Merchants'  Exchange  in  Philadelphia  gave  him 
a  grand  ovation,  followed  by  a  banquet  at  the 
Continental  Hotel.  On  the  15th,  he  was  back 
in  New  York  to  attend  a  large  dinner  given  him 
by  the  Union  League  Club.  On  the  2 2d,  he  was 
the  guest  of  honor  at  the  annual  meeting  and 
banquet  of  the  New  England  Society  In  Bos- 
ton. Later,  he  was  entertained  with  public  honor 
in  Washing-ton. 

The  testimonials  at  this  time  were  not  alone  of 
such  an  unsubstantial  nature  as  receptions  and 
banquets.  Twenty-one  thousand  dollars  was  sub- 
scribed by  Boston  merchants  and  divided  among 
the  Kearsarge  s  crew.  The  New  York  Chamber 
of  Commerce  presented  Winslow  with  twenty-five 
thousand  dollars  as  a  testimonial  of  his  services  to 
the  merchants  of  that  city  alone.  The  Government 
had  advanced  him  to  the  grade  of  Commodore, 
his  commission  dating  from  the  day  of  battle. 
This,  however,  was  a  promotion  of  only  eighteen 
numbers. 

On  the  5th  of  December  the  President  sent  the 
following  communication  to  Congress  : 


262  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

28th  Congress,  Ex.  Doc. 

2d  Session.  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES.  No.  6. 

CAPTAIN  JOHN  A.  WINSLOW. 


MESSAGE 

from  the 

PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

Recommending 

A  vote  of  thanks  to  Captain  Winslow  for  skill  and  gallantry  in 
the  destruction  of  the  pirate  craft  Alabama. 


December  8,   1864. — Referred  to  the  Committee  on   Naval 
Affairs  and  ordered  to  be  printed. 


* '  To  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  : 

"  In  conformity  to  the  law  of  July  16,  1862,  I  most  cordially 
recommend  that  Captain  John  A.  Winslow,  United  States 
navy,  receive  a  vote  of  thanks  from  Congress  for  the  skill  and 
gallantry  exhibited  by  him  in  the  brilliant  action  whilst  in 
command  of  the  United  States  steamer  Kearsarge,  which  led 
to  the  total  destruction  of  the  piratical  craft  Alabama,  on  the 
19th  of  June,  1864,  a  vessel  superior  in  tonnage,  superior  in 
number  of  guns,  and  superior  in  number  of  crew. 

"  This  recommendation  is  specially  made,  in  order  to 
comply  with  the  requirement  of  the  9th  section  of  the  afore, 
said  act,  which  is  in  the  following  words,  viz. : 

"  '  That  any  line  officer  of  the  navy  or  marine  corps  may 
be  advanced  one  grade,  if,  upon  recommendation  of  the 
President  by  name,  he  receives  the  thanks  of  Congress  for 
highly  distinguished  conduct  in  conflict  with  the  enemy,  or 
for  extraordinary  heroism  in  the  line  of  his  profession.' 

"  Abraham  Lincoln. 

"Washington  City,  Decetnber j,  1864." 

On  the  14th  and  15th  a  resohition  passed  the 
Senate  and   House,    respectively,  without  debate, 


The  Ovation  at  Home.  263 

tendering    the    thanks    of    Congress    to    Captain 
Winslow. 

' '  Resolved  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the 
United  States  of  America  in  Congress  assembled^  That  the  thanks 
of  congress  are  due,  and  are  hereby  tendered,  to  Captain  John 
A.  Winslow,  of  the  United  States  navy,  and  to  the  officers, 
petty  officers,  seamen,  and  marines  of  the  United  States 
steamer  Kearsarge,  for  the  skill  and  gallantry  exhibited  by 
him  and  the  officers  and  men  under  his  command,  in  the 
brilliant  action  on  the  nineteenth  of  June,  eighteen  hundred 
and  sixty-four,  between  that  ship  and  the  piratical  craft 
Alaba^na — a  vessel  superior  to  his  own  in  tonnage,  in  guns, 
and  in  the  number  of  her  crew. 

"Approved,  December  20,  1864." 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 


DUTIES    AS    COMMODORE. 


AFTER  three  months'  rest,  if  the  almost  in- 
cessant ovations  of  that  period  can  be  called 
rest  for  one  of  Winslow's  disposition,  he  was  made 
president  of  a  board  to  supervise  the  building  of 
ironclads  and  other  vessels  at  Boston.  As  it  was 
evident  that  there  could  be  little  more  for  the  navy 
to  accomplish  afloat,  this  duty  was  quite  acceptable 
to  him,  being  near  his  home  and  of  a  nature  for 
which  he  was  well  fitted  by  his  experience  on  the 
Mississippi  under  Flag  Officer  Foote. 

The  war  ended  at  Appomattox  in  April,  1865, 
and  in  October  Winslow  was  ordered  as  a  member 
of  a  general  court-martial,  of  which  Admiral  Far- 
ragut  was  president,  convened  at  Washington, 
November  ist,  for  the  trial  of  various  officers, 
among  them  being  Commodore  T.  T.  Craven  of 
the  Niagara,  one  of  the  vessels  which  had  suc- 
ceeded the  Kearsarge  in  the  English  channel. 
Craven's  offence  was  his  failure  to  pursue  and  fight 
the  Confederate  steamer  Stonewall,  one  of  the  rams 
which  Winslow  had  had  under  surveillance  at  Bor- 
deaux during  his  operations  on  the  coast  of  France. 

264 


Duties  as  Commodore.  265 

The  watchfulness  of  the  Kearsarge  and  the  pres- 
sure brought  to  bear  upon  the  French  Government 
forced  the  Confederate  agents  to  reHnquish  these 
vessels.  The  Stonewall,  as  she  was  subsequently 
named,  was  sold  by  her  builders  to  Denmark  and 
delivered  at  Copenhagen,  but  was  afterwards  pur- 
chased by  the  Confederates.  At  Ferrol  she  was 
watched  by  the  Niagara  and  Sacramento,  and 
sought  an  engagement  with  them,  but  they  avoided 
it.  The  notoriously  inconsistent  sentence  of  the 
court  in  Craven's  case  called  forth  the  comment  of 
Secretary  Welles,  in  his  review  of  the  proceedings, 
that  "  The  incongruous  whole  has  the  aspect  of  an 
unsuccessful  attempt  at  compromise  between  those 
members  of  the  court  who  believed  the  accused 
guilty  and  those  who  believed  him  not  guilty,"  but 
nothing  can  be  found  in  Winslow's  correspondence 
indicating  his  individual  views  upon  the  subject. 

During  the  autumn  of  1865,  diplomatic  relations 
between  the  United  States  and  France  were  be- 
coming more  and  more  strained  over  the  occupation 
of  Mexico  by  French  troops  and  the  imposition  of 
the  Archduke  Maximilian  of  Austria  upon  the 
Mexican  people  as  their  Emperor.  When  the 
Southern  rebellion  collapsed.  Napoleon  realized 
that  he  would  have  to  withdraw  his  troops  from 
Mexico  or  prepare  for  war  with  the  United  States. 
Very  adroitly,  he  proposed  to  Mr.  Seward  that  the 
French  troops  would  be  promptly  withdrawn  if  the 
United  States  would  recognize  and  protect  Maxi- 
milian as  Emperor.  Mr.  Seward's  reply,  although 
clothed  diplomatically,  was  a  point-blank  refusal  of 


266  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

the  proposition.  It  was  prepared  for  transmittal 
on  the  5th  of  December.  ReaHzing  that  it  produced 
a  crisis  in  the  situation  and  might  make  war  with 
France  inevitable,  our  Government  made  disposi- 
tions accordingly.  Troops  were  already  mobilized 
on  the  Mexican  frontier.  The  U.  S.  Gulf  Squadron 
was  divided,  and  a  Western  Gulf  Squadron  formed 
to  observe  the  Mexican  coast.  A  commander  was 
needed  for  this,  who,  besides  being  a  fighter,  would 
be  familiar  with  the  wiles  of  European  diplomacy, 
and  Seward  himself  selected  Winslow.  On  De- 
cember 5th,  the  latter  was  ordered  to  proceed  by 
steamer  from  New  York  to  New  Orleans,  to  as- 
sume his  new  command.  On  the  following  day 
Seward's  despatch,  refusing  to  entertain  the  French 
proposal,  was  started  on  its  momentous  errand. 

While  Winslow  was  journeying  from  New  York  to 
New  Orleans  by  steamer,  a  contingency  arose  which 
demanded  his  presence  in  Washington.  Certain  in- 
fluences upon  the  Government  brought  about  the 
arrest  of  Raphael  Semmes  and  his  imprisonment  at 
the  Capital,  to  stand  trial  for  violation  of  the  rules 
of  war  in  failing  to  give  himself  up  after  surrender- 
ing the  Alabama.  Commodore  Winslow  was,  of 
course,  needed  as  a  witness  for  the  prosecution  ;  so, 
upon  reporting  to  Acting  Rear  Admiral  Thatcher, 
at  New  Orleans,  January  2,  1866,  he  found  tele- 
graphic orders  awaiting  him  directing  an  immediate 
return  North. 

Semmes,  however,  was  not  brought  to  trial,  the 
attorney-general  deciding  that  he  came  under  the 
exemption  terms  guaranteed  by  Grant  to  Lee  when 


Duties  as  Commodore.  267 

the  latter  surrendered.  The  case  was  abandoned 
in  March  and  Semmes  was  released.  Without 
having  seen  his  former  adversary,  Winslow  was 
again  ordered  to  command  the  Gulf  Squadron,  as- 
suming command  May  4th  at  Pensacola. 

Napoleon  was  already  arranging  for  the  with- 
drawal of  his  army  from  Mexico.  Maximilian, 
after  vain  appeals  and  protests,  elected  to  remain. 
As  soon  as  the  French  grip  relaxed,  the  Mexican 
republicans  commenced  to  win  victories.  The  em- 
barkation of  the  whole  French  military  and  civil 
establishment  was  completed  at  Vera  Cruz  on  the 
5th  of  February,  1867,  and  the  French  fleet  sailed 
for  France  on  the  13th  of  March.  Maximilian, 
with  his  meagre  band  of  adherents,  was  quickly  be- 
sieged by  Juarez's  forces  in  Queretaro,  and  taken 
prisoner  on  the  15th  of  May. 

The  need  for  a  separate  United  States  Gulf 
Squadron  thus  ceased  to  exist.  Winslow  was 
directed  to  haul  down  his  flag  on  the  21st  of  May, 
and  turn  over  his  squadron  to  Rear-Admiral  James 
S.  Palmer,  commanding  the  naval  forces  on  the 
North  Atlantic.  Nothing  had  occurred  demanding 
an  exhibition  of  the  qualities  for  which  the  victor 
of  Cherbourg  had  been  selected.  The  chief  inci- 
dent within  the  limits  of  his  command  had  not 
occurred  on  the  Mexican  coast,  but  in  New  Or- 
leans, and  was  an  outcome  of  the  throes  of  recon- 
struction. 

A  convention  of  unionists,  known  as  the  Con- 
vention of  1864,  met  in  New  Orleans,  July  30, 
1866,  at  the  call  of  the  Governor  of  Louisiana,  to 


268  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

propose  and  formulate  some  changes  in  state  gov- 
ernment. The  place  of  meeting  was  assailed  by  a 
mob  of  irreconcilables,  including  the  city  police, 
about  forty  of  those  in  the  hall  being  killed  and 
nearly  one  hundred  and  fifty  wounded  before  the 
arrival  of  troops  restored  order.  The  action  of 
both  Sheridan  and  Winslow  in  the  emergency  was 
most  efficacously  drastic,  but  it  did  not  meet  with 
approval  in  Washington,  and  both  officers  were 
reprimanded. 

"  Pensacola,  Sept.  i6ik,  1866. 

"...  From  what  is  in  the  wind  at  Washington,  I 
shall  not  be  surprised  if  I  am  relieved  from  this  station. 
I  have  fallen  into  disfavor,  for  during  the  riot  in  New  Orleans 
I  directed  the  ironclads  to  be  got  ready  for  immediate  service, 
I  wrote  orders  to  the  commander  of  one  of  our  vessels  there. 
My  deep  regret  is  he  did  not  land  with  every  man  under  his 
command  and  put  an  end  to  the  massacre. 

"  In  my  letter  to  the  Department  I  characterized  the  mob 
as  one  of  the  most  cruel,  cowardly,  and  dastardly  that  ever 
disgraced  our  flag,  and  got  up  for  the  suppression  of  free 
speech.  Welles  wrote  me  long  and  severe  letters  disapproving 
my  course,  and  so  matters  stand.     .     .     ." 

"  Pensacola,  Oct.  isih,  1866. 
"  My  former  good  relations  with  Welles  are  restored.    .    .   ." 

In  November,  1866,  Commodore  Winslow  was 
joined  on  the  station  by  his  wife,  and  she  remained 
with  him  until  he  was  relieved  from  command  in 
the  following  May,  and  returned  with  him  to 
Boston. 

On  the  5th  of  the  following  July,  Commodore 
Winslow  obtained  leave  of  absence  for  four  months 
to  take  his  family  to  Europe.     The  trip  was  to 


Duties  as  Commodore. 


269 


have  been  taken  chiefly  to  benefit  the  health  of  his 
daughter  Fanny,  but  she  was  too  ill  to  endure  it, 
and  soon  afterward  died  ;  so  it  was  abandoned.  On 
January  31,  1868,  he  was  appointed  chairman  of  a 
board  to  appraise  the  ironclads  with  which  he  had 
been  so  frequently  associated,  and  many  of  which 
were,  by  Act  of  Congress,  to  be  sold.  With  the 
board,  he  visited  Washington,  New  Orleans,  Cairo, 
Mound  City,  and  League  Island.  He  was  as- 
signed no  further  public  duty  until  June  2,  1869, 
when  he  was  ordered  to  command  the  Portsmouth 
Navy  Yard,  where  he  remained  until  promoted. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 


THE    LAST    CRUISE. 


ON  the  second  of  March,  1870,  Commodore 
Winslow  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  Rear- 
Admiral,  and  on  the  first  of  the  following  July  he 
was  assigned  to  command  the  Pacific  Station. 
Starting  for  San  Francisco  in  August,  he  hoisted 
his  flag  on  the  U.  S.  S.  Saranac  and  found  himself 
once  more  amid  the  scenes  of  his  longr  cruise  in  the 
St,  Lawrence.  By  permission  from  the  Navy  De- 
partment, he  was  later  joined  on  board  by  his  wife 
and  daughter,  and  they  accompanied  him  almost 
continuously  during  the  cruise.  In  May,  1871,  a 
trip  was  made  to  Puget  Sound  and  thence  to 
Alaska  through  the  inside  passages,  returning  the 
same  way  and  stopping  at  Sitka,  Victoria,  and 
Portland,  Oregon.  San  Francisco  was  reached 
again  August  17th.  There  they  found  the  U.  S. 
S.  Califorjiia,  which  had  been  sent  out  to  be  flag- 
ship. Admiral  Winslow  therefore  transferred  his 
flag  to  her,  and  in  November,  1871,  sailed  for  the 
Sandwich  Islands.  An  unusually  severe  storm  was 
encountered,  which  blew  the  ship  many  miles  out 
of  her  course,  but  she  arrived  safely  at  Honolulu 

270 


The  Last  Cruise.  271 

on  the  2 2d  of  December.  The  Admiral  and  his 
officers  and  family  were  received  with  much  pomp, 
ceremony,  and  adulation,  beginning  with  a  recep- 
tion at  the  palace,  which  is  thus  described  in  the 
Hawaiian  Gazette  of  January  3,  1872  : 

*'  AUDIENCE    AT    lOLANI    PALACE, 


"  The  Minister  and  Admiral,  accompanied  by  Mrs.  Wins- 
low  and  daughter,  arrived  at  the  Palace,  in  His  Majesty's 
carriage,  at  precisely  12  o'clock,  the  band  playing  Hail 
Columbia  as  they  passed  the  Guard. 

"  The  Admiral  was  also  accompanied  by  Captain  J.  M.  B. 
Clitz,  commanding  the  U.  S.  Ship  California;  Commander 
R.  W.  Meade,  commanding  U.  S.  Ship  Narraga?isett;  Fleet 
Surgeon,  John  M.  Browne;  Captain  P.  C.  Pope,  U.  S.  M.; 
Fleet  Engineer,  Montgomery  Fletcher;  Fleet  Paymaster, 
Casper  Schenck;  Lieutenant  Commander  Henry  Glass. 

"  Her  Majesty  Queen  Emma  assisted  at  the  audience,  and 
was  accompanied  by  Mrs.  Elisha  H.  Allen,  Mrs.  J.  Mott 
Smith,  Mrs.  Governor  Dominis,  Mrs.  C.  R.  Bishop,  Mrs. 
William  F,  Allen,  and  Miss  Nannie  Harris. 

"  His  Majesty  was  attended  by  the  Chancellor  of  the  King- 
dom, the  Ministers  of  Foreign  Affairs,  Interior,  and  Finance, 
Judges  Hartwell  and  Widemann,  the  Governor  of  Oahu,  Hon. 
C.  R.  Bishop,  Colonels  Allen  and  Pratt,  Majors  Hoffmann, 
Harris  and  Kahanu,  and  His  Majesty's  Chamberlain,  who  re- 
ceived the  visitors  at  the  door  as  they  arrived. 

"  Admiral  Winslow,  on  being  presented,  addressed  His 
Majesty  as  follows: 

"  '  May  it  please  Your  Majesty: 

"  '  After  an  interval  of  over  eighteen  years,  I  again  have 
the  pleasure  of  visiting  the  beautiful  islands  which  comprise 
Your  Majesty's  Kingdom. 

"  '  I  am  gratified  to  find  presented  on  every  hand  evidences 
of  their  progress,  prosperity,  and  happiness. 


272  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

"  '  The  Government  and  people  of  the  United  States  feel  a 
lively  interest  in  the  welfare  of  the  Hawaiian  Islands,  not 
only  from  the  commercial  value  and  the  reciprocal  advantages 
which  commerce  opens  to  both  countries,  but  as  these  islands 
have  been  the  field  of  labor  of  American  missionaries  from 
an  early  date,  which  has  so  signally  illustrated  the  power  and 
value  of  Christian  influence  in  elevating  a  new  people. 

"  '  May  the  cordial  relations  that  have  hitherto  existed  be- 
tween our  respective  countries  be  permanent. 

"  '  I  desire  to  take  advantage  of  this  occasion  to  express 
my  thanks  for  the  timely  and  efficient  aid  rendered  by  Your 
Majesty's  Government  to  the  crew  of  the  United  States 
Steamer  Saginaw,  one  of  the  vessels  which  were  under  my 
command  in  the  Pacific. 

"  '  May  Your  Majesty  enjoy  a  long  and  prosperous  reign.* 

"  To  which  His  Majesty  was  pleased  to  reply: 

"  'Admiral: 

"  '  Eighteen  years  is  a  long  period,  and  brings  changes  to 
all:  it  has  brought  to  you  fame  and  the  highest  honors  of  your 
profession,  I  am  glad  if  it  appears  to  you  to  have  brought 
some  prosperity  and  happiness  to  My  people. 

"  '  With  regard  to  the  Sagi?iaw,  her  Captain  took  occasion 
upon  his  arrival  here  to  return  his  thanks  for  the  assistance 
rendered,  and  since  then  your  Minister  Resident  has  trans- 
mitted to  me  the  thanks  of  your  Government.  But  I  take  this 
occasion  to  repeat  what  I  have  said  before,  that  in  giving 
assistance  to  shipwrecked  seamen  in  this  ocean,  we  can  at  best 
only  follow  at  respectful  distance  the  alacrity  and  devotion  of 
the  service  of  which  you  are  so  distinguished  a  member.  I 
am  well  aware  of  the  good  feeling  of  the  Government  and 
people  of  the  United  States  towards  this  country — a  feeling 
which  I  fully  reciprocate,  and  I  have  no  doubt  that  your  stay 
here  will  afford  the  opportunity  to  My  people  to  give  further 
evidence  of  the  cordiality  with  which  those  in  the  service  of 
your  country  are  always  welcome  here.  In  the  meantime,  I 
am  very  glad  to  see  you.  Admiral,  your  wife  and  daughter, 
and  the  officers  who  accompany  you.' 


The  Last  Cruise.  273 

"  After  some  time  spent  in  social  conversation  and  inspec- 
tion of  the  feather  cloaks,  which  of  course  were  a  matter  of 
great  curiosity  to  the  strangers,  His  Majesty  invited  his  guests 
to  sit  down  to  a  collation  in  the  dining-room,  where  all 
enjoyed  themselves  exceedingly. 

"The  visitors  took  their  departure  at  3  o'clock;  His 
Majesty  having  accepted  the  Admiral's  invitation  to  visit  him 
on  board  the  Flag  Ship  to-day  at  11  o'clock." 

Feeling  unfit,  both  in  heahh  and  incHnation,  to 
endure  the  ordeal  of  entertainment  that  threatened 
him,  Winslow  sailed  for  South  America  on  the  4th 
of  January,  1872.  Shortl}^  afterward,  while  off  the 
island  of  Rimitara,  one  of  the  Austral  group,  he  was 
one  day  stricken  slightly  with  paralysis  just  after 
his  bath.  From  this  attack,  however,  he  gradually 
rallied.  The  ship  continued  her  cruise,  touching 
at  Juan  Fernandez,  Valparaiso,  and  other  South 
American  points,  until  Panama  was  reached,  where 
she  was  detained  by  orders  from  the  Department. 
The  seeds  of  illness  sown  in  a  similar  climate  dur- 
ing exposure  in  the  Mexican  War,  were  here  en- 
couraged to  full  fruition,  and  the  Admiral  grew 
rapidly  worse.  Incessant  and  excruciating  pain 
developed  in  his  diseased  eye,  with  constant 
neuralgia  in  the  right  side  of  the  face  and  partial 
paralysis  throughout  the  right  side  of  his  body. 
He  was  finally  induced  to  submit  himself  to  a  med- 
ical survey,  and,  upon  the  recommendation  of  the 
board,  he  resigned  his  command  and  proceeded, 
with  his  family,  to  San  Francisco  by  mail  steamer. 
Orders  reached  him  there  in  August  expressing 
the  Department's  deep  regret  at  his  illness,  and, 


2  74  John  Ancrum  Winslow. 

agreeably  to  his  request,  detaching  him  from  the 
command  of  the  Pacific  Station. 

Admiral  Winslow  then  spent  nearly  a  year  in 
California,  and  its  recuperative  climate  seemed 
greatly  to  improve  his  health.  In  April,  1873,  he 
journeyed  East  and  stopped  in  Washington  to  re- 
port at  the  Navy  Department.  On  May  9th,  he 
purchased  tickets  for  New  York,  and,  with  his 
wife  and  daughter,  was  in  the  reception-room  of 
the  Ebbitt  House  despatching  his  baggage  when 
he  was  stricken  with  what  appeared  to  be  apoplexy, 
remaining  unconscious  until  late  in  the  evening. 
As  soon  as  he  was  able  to  travel,  he  was  taken  to 
his  home  in  Boston,  where,  after  patiently  enduring 
several  months  of  great  suffering,  he  died,  Septem- 
ber 29,  1873,  within  a  few  days  of  completing  his 
sixty-second  year. 

Mrs.  Winslow,  as  he  had  wished,  declined  the 
tender  of  a  military  funeral.  A  simple  service  was 
held  at  St.  James's  Episcopal  Church,  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  family  and  a  number  of  friends  and 
comrades  in  arms,  and  the  remains,  covered  by  the 
battle-flag  of  the  Kearsarge,  were  then  taken  to 
their  last  resting-place  in  Forest  Hill  Cemetery. 
There  a  granite  boulder  from  Kearsarge  Moun- 
tain, appropriately  inscribed,  now  marks  the  grave. 

Thus  closed  the  earthly  career  of  the  man  who 
fouofht  and  won  the  most  memorable  naval  duel 
yet  chronicled  in  the  world's  history.  I  cannot 
better  close  this  record  of  his  life  than  by  quoting 
the  words  of  his  most  illustrious  contemporary, 
Admiral  Farragut : 


The  Last  Cruise. 


275 


"  I  had  sooner  have  fought  that  fight  than  any  ever  fought 
upon  the  ocean!  " 

and  those  of  his  great  antagonist,  Raphael  Semmes  : 
"He  was  the  Christian  gentleman." 


INDEX. 


Adams,  Charles  Francis,   126,   131, 

132,  136,  137 
Adams,  Charles  Francis,  corre- 
spondence with  Winslow 
concerning  entry  of  Kear- 
sarge  into  British  ports, 
162-165,  169 
Alabama,  C.  S.  S.,  98-100,  iiS,  170 

action  with  Hatteras,  102,  174 
"  "     Kearsarge,\C)b,7,\Z 

ammunition  expended,  211 

at  Cherbourg,  174-187 

burning  vessels  on  the  equator, 
106 

captures  Rockingham  and  uses 
her  as  a  target,  176 

casualties  in  action  with  Kear- 
sarge,  207 

comparison  with  Kearsarge,  191 

condition    of,   toward    end    of 
cruise,  175 

destruction  of,  188-218 

distribution  of  fighting  force  in 
action,  20i 

meets  Florida  off  Pernambuco, 
no 

officers  of,  192 

preparations  for  battle,  1S5-187 

vessels  captured  by,  174 


Amy,  Thomas,  2 

Ancrum,  Dr.  and  Mrs.,  of  Valpa- 
raiso, 62 

Ancrum,  John,  2 

Annette,  chartered  tender  to  Kear^ 
sarge,  158,  161 

Arkansas,  ram,  86 

Armstrong,  Lieut.,  C.  S.  N.,  de- 
scribes rescue  of  self  and 
others  by  French  pilot-boat, 
239,  240 

Azores,  14,  99-116 


B 


Benton,  U.  S.  S.,  70,  73,  74 

Berry,  Sarah  E.,  3 

Bullock,  Captain,  C.  S.  N.,  no 


Camel  steam-tug,  invention  of  Wins- 
low's,  3,  55,  59 

Chilton,  Mary,  i 

Chincha  Islands  diflSculties,  63,  64, 
66 

Clanricarde  letter,  the,  134-136,  172 
"  Marquis  of,  134-137 

Connor,  Commodore,  U.  S.  N.,  25, 
26,  33,  35-39 

Coiironne,  French  ironclad,  1S8-190 


277 


2  78 


Index 


Craven,  Commodore  T.  T.,   U.  S. 

N.,  court-martial  of,  264, 

265 
Cumberland,  U.  S.  S.,  24-38 
Cunard  steamer,  Winslow  fights  fire 

on,  8 
Cushing,  Hon.  Caleb,  13-19 

D 

Davis,  Charles  H.,  79,  81,  85,  88, 

91.  94,  95 
Dayton,   U.   S.   Minister,   iig,   138, 

139 
Deerhound,  British  Yacht : 
arrival  at  Cherbourg,  i88 
conduct  of,  219-230 
rescues    Alabama's   crew,    206, 
207 
Donelson,  Fort,  capture  of,  78 
Donoughraore,  Earl  of,  133 


Eads,  James  B.,  70 

"  "       "    describes     ground- 

ing   of     the    Benton    and 
vifounding  of  Winslow,  74, 

75 
Edge,  Mr.  F.  M.,  describes  visit' to 
Alabama! s  wounded  in  hos- 
pital, 241,  242 
Edson,  Captain,  41,  42 
Enterprise,  U.  S.  Schooner,  7 


Farragut,  Admiral,  79,  85,  275 
Florida,    C.    S.    S.,    103-106,    no, 
114-123,  138-152,  157-  170 
Foote,    Rear   Admiral,   55,   70,   71, 

78,  82,  85,  87,  90,  95 
Fort  Donelson,  capture  of,  78 

"     Henry,  "        "    78 

"    Pillow,  78,  80,  82 
Fremont,  Major-General,  70-73 
Fry,  Colonel,  83,  84 


Georgia,  C.  S.  S.,  103-107,  in,  118, 

123,     138,     143-152,    155- 

157,  162,  170,  171 
Gold  fever  in  California,  61,  63 
Gowin,     William,    heroic     conduct 

when    wounded   on    Kear- 

sarge,  202,  203 
Grant,  General,  73,  77,  78 

H 

Halleck,  General,  78 

Henry,  Fort,  capture  of,  78 

Hollins'  fight,  84 

Honolulu,    described  by    Winslow, 

60,  61 
Horse  latitudes,  32 


Iroquois,    U,  S.  S.,  relieves  Kear- 

sarge,  253 
Island  No.  10,  capture  of,  78 

J 

Jones,  Evan  P.,  Captain  of  Deer- 
hound,  describes  her  move- 
ments, 229,  230 

Juno,  blockade  runner,  capture  of, 
112,  113,  122 


Kearsarge,    U.    S.    S.,   action  with 
Alabama,  196-218 
ammunition  expended,  211 
arrival  in  Boston,  259 
blockades  Alabama,  181-188 
blockades  Rappahannock,   153- 

173 
captures  ymio,  112,  113 
collision  with    pierhead   at  Os- 

tend,  167-169,  172 
compared  with  Alabama,  igi 
description  of,  98 
distribution  of  fighting  force  in 

action,  199,  200 


Index 


279 


Kearsarge — {Continued) 
early  cruising,  98,  99 
injuries  in  action,  210 
officers  of,  192 
relieved  by  Iroquois,  253 
repairing  at  Cadiz,  loi,  102 
sojourn    at    Queenstown,    125- 

137 
target  practice,  177 
Winslow  ordered  to  command, 
97 
Kell,  Lt.-Com'd'r  J.  M.,  C.  S.  N., 
1S7 

L 

Lancaster,     John,    owner    of     the 
Deerhound  : 
letter  to  Earl  Russell,  220,  221 
letter  to  London  Daily  News 

thanked  by  Confederate  Com- 
missioner Mason,  223,  224. 
Le  Feboure,  expedition  of,  against 
Charleston,  2 

M 

Macbeth,  J.,  wounded  in  action,  202 

Malabar,  H.  M.  S.,  receives  refu- 
gees from  Missouri,  19 

Marin,  Commander,  U.  S.  N.,  106, 
108 

Matamoras,  action  at,  27 

Mayjloruer,  the,  r 

Memphis,  surrender  of,  82 

Mexico,  war  with,  22-47 

Missouri,  U.  S.  S.,  8-14 

burning  of,  15 

Morris,  Lieut.   Charles,  killing  of, 
42,  43 

Morris,     Lt.-Com'd'r,    C.     S.     N., 
151 

N 

New  Orleans,  Riot  of  1866,  268 

Newton.  Capt.  John  Thomas,   15- 
23 


Officers  of  the  Alabama,  192 

"        Kearsarge,  192 
Orion,  blockade  runner,  109 

P 

Palo  Alto,  battle  of,  29 

Paredes,   President  of  Mexico,    24, 

27 
Perry,  Commodore,  26,  39,  52 
Pickering,  Capt.   C.  W.,  U.  S.  N., 

98,  99,  102,  105 
Pillow,  Fort,  78,  80,  82 
Pittsburg  Landing,  battle  of,  78 
Pope,  General,  78 
Porter,  David  D.,  91,  94,  95 
Preble,  Com'd'r  G.  H.,  106 
Price,  Hon.   Rodman  M.,  describes 

cruise  and  burning  of  the 

Missouri,  15-20 

Q 

Queenstown  incident,  the,   124-137 

R 

Rajah,  American  ship,  takes  refugees 
from  the  Missouri,  20 

Rappahannock,  C.  S.  6".,  iiS,  140, 
141,  143.  144.  146,  150, 
152-172,  252 

Resaca  de  la  Palma,  battle  of,  29 

Rhett,  Col.  William,  2 
"       Lieut.  Walter,  2 

Rio  de  Janeiro,  described  by  Wins- 
low,  57 

Rockingham,  captured  by  Alabama 
and  used  as  a  target,  176 

Rodgers,  Com'd'r  John,  70,  73 

Russell,  Earl,  133,  134,  142 

S 

Sacrificios  Island,  12,  27,  54 
San  Jacinto,  battle  of,  9 
Santa  Anna,  9,   10,  31,  32,  36,  37, 
39 


28o 


Index 


Saratoga,  U.  S.  S.,  48-56 
Sartorius,  Admiral  Sir  George,  16- 

19 
Scott,  General,  40,  48 
Semmes,  Raphael : 

address  to  crew  before  battle, 

190,  191 
commanding  Suinter,  98 
commands  brig  Sotiicrs  and  is 

shipwrecked,  45 
describes  blockade  of  Mexican 

ports,  34,  35 
imprisoned      at      Washington, 

266 
reasons  for  fighting  Kearsarge, 

181-185 
remarks  on  condition   of  Ala- 
bama   toward    end    of    her 
cruise,  175 
room-mate  of  VVinslow  on  Rari- 

tatt,  45,  46 
shipmate  of  Winslow  on  Cttm- 
berland,  33 
Shiloh,  battle  of,  78 
Sinclair,  Com'd'r  Geo.  T.,  186 
Sirius,  blockade  runner,  109 
Slidell,  Hon.  John,  25,  27 
Steed    Bonnet,    or    "  Blackbeard," 
buccaneer,  depredations  in 
Carolina  in  1718,  2 
St.  Lawrence,  U.  S.  S.,  57-67 
St.  Lotiis,    U.   S.   S.,  98,  106,  loS, 

198 
Sumter,  C.  S.  S.,  98,  103 


Tampico,  taking  of,  43 

Taylor,  Gen.   Zachary,   25,   27,  32, 

33,  37,  43 
Texan  War,  9 
Thornton,  Lt. -Com'd'r,  100 

letter   describing   Kearsarge  at 

Cherbourg  after  battle,  242, 

245 


Tobasco,  taking  of,  40-43 
Tuscarora,  U.  S.  6*.,  98,  lOl 

U 

Unfurling  of  flag  at  Kearsarge's 
masthead  by  shot  in  battle, 
204,  205,.  218 

V 

Valparaiso   described  by  Winslow, 

58 
Vanderbilt,  U.  S.  S.,  97,  99,  lOO 
Virginius,  filibustering  vessel,  84 

W 

War  with  Mexico.  24-47 
Webster,  Daniel,  5 
Western  Flotilla,  69-96 
Wheelwright,  59 

Wilson,  Lt.  Jos.  D.,  U.  S.  N.,  pa- 
roled because  of  honorable 
conduct,  236 
Winslow,  Benjamin,  6 
Catherine  Amelia,  6 
Com'd'r  Francis,  U.  S.  N.,  88 
Eben  Eveleth,  7 
Edward,  1-3 
Herbert,  7 
John,  1-3 
John  Ancrum  : 

appointed  midshipman,  5 
assignment  to  Kearsage,  97-103 
baptism,  3 

bears    despatches     announcing 
burning  of  Missouri,  20,  21 
birth,  3 

castaway  at  sea,  4 
commands  captured  brig  Union, 

42 
commands  Pacific  Station,  270, 

271 
commands  Western  Gulf  Squad- 
ron, 266-268 
commissioned  Captain,  88 


Index 


281 


"Winslow — ( Con  tin  tted) 

commissioned  Commander,  67 

commissioned  Lieutenant,  7 

confidential  orders  to  seek 
Florida,  203 

correspondence  with  Minister 
Adams,  162-166,  169 

describes  action  at  Fort  Pillow, 
80,  81 

describes  affairs  at  Santo  Do- 
mingo in  1S48,  50,  51 

describes  attack  on  Alvarado, 
37 

describes  capture  of  Juno,  112, 

"3 

describes  Cuban  affairs  in  1842, 
II 

describes  Memphis  after  its  sur- 
render, 82 

describes  taking  of  Barita,  30, 
31 

describes  taking  of  Tampico, 
43,  44 

describes  unfurling  of  flag  at 
Kearsage's  masthead  in 
battle,  218 

describes  White  River  Expedi- 
tion, 82-85 

detachment  from  Western  Flo- 
tilla, 93,  96 

disease  in  right  eye,  97,  100, 
107 

duty  on  St.  Lawrence,  57,  67 
"     with  Western  Flotilla,  69- 
96 

early  cruises,  5 
"      education,  4,  5 

executive  of  Saratoga,  48-56 

fight  with  British  cabin  boy, 
3,  4 

first  report  of  action  with  Ala- 
bama, 208,  209 

gallant  conduct  at  Tobasco,  41, 
42 


illness  from  malaria,  36 

last  illness  and  death,  274,  275 

letter   to    Marquis    of    Clanri- 

carde,  134-136 
marriage,  6 

member  of  Craven  court-mar- 
tial, 264,  265 
orders   St.  Louis  to  join  A'ear- 

sage  off  Cherbourg,  178 
paroles  ^/a3awa  prisoners,  233- 

238 
patents  camel  steam-tug,  13 
presented  with  epaulettes  from 

Queen  Victoria,  8 
receives    thanks    of    Congress, 

261 
receptions  at  home,  259,  363 
reception  at  Honolulu,  271-273 
relations  with  Porter,  91 
report   of    search    for   Florida 

256,  258 
report  on  men  for  conspicuous 

conduct  in  battle,  217,  218 
room-mate  of  Semmes  on  Ra- 

ritan,  45,  46 
service  on   the  Missouri,   8-21 
shipwrecked  and  loses    Union, 

45 
supplementary  report  on  action 

with  Alabama,  212-216 
takes  command  of  Kearsarge, 

102 
testimonials    from     officers    of 

Baron  de  Kalb,  95,  96 
wild-boar     hunt     in     Morocco 

with  Marquis  of  Lome,  22 
wounded  on  Benton,  74,  75 
Winslow,  Miss  Mary  C,  iii 

"  Paymaster     Wm.      Ran- 

dolph, 7,  75,  76,  87 


Yucatan  insurrection,  32 


